Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: BRITISH Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that he was focused on “economic stability” after one of his party’s mayors said he had been privately encouraged to launch a leadership challenge following criticism of the Government’s record, reported reuters.
Andy Burnham, the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester in northern England, said Starmer had no clear plans to turn the country around, and lawmakers in Britain’s parliament urged him this summer to stand against the prime minister.
Burnham set out his own vision for Britain this week including more left-wing policies, such as tax increases on the wealthy and large-scale nationalisations, saying that Britain should not be “in hock” to bond markets.
In his first public response to Burnham’s criticism, Starmer said he would not comment on “the mayor’s personal ambitions” but listed what he said were his Government’s main achievements, including millions of extra appointments in the state-run health service.
Starmer emphasised his Government’s commitment to self-imposed fiscal rules, limiting the amount Britain will borrow to try to build the confidence of markets, telling ITV Granada “economic stability is the foundational stone of this government”. Starmer has faced the most difficult weeks of his premiership little more than a year after winning one of the largest election victories in modern British history. The forced departure of his deputy prime minister and ambassador to United States this month has led to speculation he could be replaced.
Burnham, who is widely seen as one of Starmer’s biggest rivals, did not deny in interviews with British media that he was interested in the Labour leadership, which he has tried and failed to win on two previous occasions.
