Altrincham and Sale West MP Connor Rand has thrown his support behind Andy Burnham to become the next Labour leader and Prime Minister, while admitting the Labour government under Sir Keir Starmer should have been "bolder and more imaginative".
Rand set out his position in a statement posted to Facebook following Sir Keir Starmer's announcement yesterday that he would resign as Prime Minister and Labour leader, triggering a contest to replace him.
In the statement, the MP paid tribute to the outgoing Prime Minister but said the government had to be honest about where it had fallen short - arguing that after more than a decade of decline and stagnating wages, Labour needed to move faster and should have been "bolder and more imaginative" in tackling the challenges facing Britain.
Rand credited Starmer with steering the country through a difficult inheritance, pointing to the biggest fall in NHS waiting lists in 17 years, action to lift 500,000 children out of poverty, and investment in net zero.
On the international stage, he praised the Prime Minister's support for Ukraine, the rebuilding of relations with the EU, and his resistance to pressure to take the UK into a war in Iran. He said Starmer had shown "great dignity" in standing down.
The bulk of Rand's statement was an endorsement of Andy Burnham, who confirmed yesterday that he will stand in the leadership contest and is widely seen as the frontrunner.
Rand said Mr Burnham had been "a terrific Mayor of Greater Manchester" and that residents in Altrincham and Sale West had benefited directly from the Mayor's work, citing the Bee Network and Burnham's efforts to tackle homelessness.
"In Makerfield and across Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham has shown that he can both bring communities with him and deliver transformative change," the MP wrote, adding that he was supporting Burnham "to do the same for the country".
Burnham returned to the House of Commons yesterday after winning the Makerfield by-election on 18th June, a victory that cleared the way for a leadership challenge.
Labour's National Executive Committee is expected to open nominations on 9th July, with a new leader due to be in place before Parliament returns in September.
Connor Rand has been the Labour MP for Altrincham and Sale West since the 2024 general election.
