Burnham eyes Labour crown as Starmer clings on

In a dramatic week at Westminster, Wes Streeting has quit as health secretary and ex-deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has said her wrangling with HMRC is finally over – but neither has launched a leadership challenge. Instead, all eyes are now on Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham as he attempts to chart a path back to the Commons, leaving Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership under severe pressure. Host Lucy Fisher is joined by political correspondent Anna Gross, deputy opinion editor Miranda Green and deputy political editor Jim Pickard to discuss the latest developments. The team also examines Reform UK leader Nigel Farage’s shifting story about his £5mn personal gift from a Thailand-based crypto investor in 2024, and looks ahead to consider what a Reform government would do.  

Follow: Lucy @LOS_Fisher or @lucyfisher.ft.com; Anna @annasophiagross; Miranda @greenmiranda & @greenmirandahere.bsky.social and Jim @pickardJE 

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Burnham’s return to Westminster will not be so easy 

Labour set to approve Andy Burnham’s by-election run

Starmer crisis as it happened: premier appoints new health secretary 

Angela Rayner says she has been cleared over tax affairs

Wes Streeting: the confident performer with a mixed record of reform 

To beat the populist right, Labour must be an insurgent government 

Zack Polanski admits ‘mistake’ over houseboat council tax

FT Series: Reform UK up close

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Political Fix was presented by Lucy Fisher and produced by Nisha Patel. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and sound engineering by Breen Turner. The broadcast engineers are Andrew Georgiades and Bianca Wakeman. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s global head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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