LEFT MPs are giving serious consideration to running their own Labour leadership candidate to succeed Sir Keir Starmer, as presumed front-runner Andy Burnham is seen to be moving to the right, reports have shown.

However, no decisions are going to be taken until after the Makerfield by-election on June 18, which sees Mr Burnham in a fight with the hard-right Reform UK in a seat which has been Labour-held for more than a century.

The Manchester mayor has indicated he backs the government’s anti-migrant measures and has committed to sticking with Treasury rules on spending and debt.

A candidate backed by the Socialist Campaign Group would have no chance of getting on the ballot in any leadership election, which requires the backing of at least 81 Labour MPs. However, they could raise policy challenges for as long as they remained in the race.

Should Mr Burnham win in Makerfield, he is expected to press for an early election to replace Sir Keir, who has lost all authority since the disastrous May 7 election results.

Former health secretary Wes Streeting, who quit the Cabinet in the aftermath, has already committed to contesting, criticising the government since.

One leading left MP told the Star that should Mr Burnham lose in Makerfield, where polls presently place him narrowly in front, it would be “existential” for the Labour Party.  

He added that “all options are on the table” regarding a left leadership challenge.

Another told the Times about Mr Burnham: “A lot of us are increasingly frustrated that he’s being portrayed as the saviour of the left when he’s nothing of the sort.

“There have been discussions about whether we put up a candidate to try to force him into more progressive positions.”

However, some left MPs are committed to backing Mr Burnham in an election.

Names cited most frequently as a potential candidate are former party chairman Ian Lavery, Socialist Campaign Group secretary Richard Burgon and last year’s deputy leadership challenger Bell Ribeiro-Addy.

Left MPs are united in pressing for a reversion to the candidate threshold established under Jeremy Corbyn, where the support of 10 per cent of Labour MPs — 40 at present — was sufficient to get on the ballot.

But reports suggesting that a group of MPs may defect to the Greens in the event of a defeat in Makerfield have been largely discounted as fanciful.