Is Andy Burnham about to become Prime Minister?
The News Agents
Global
4.1 • 5.4K Ratings
🗓️ 15 May 2026
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In a week of endless rumours and leadership speculation, Westminster is once again in turmoil - with both everything and nothing seeming to happen at the same time.
Yesterday saw the resignation of Makersfield MP Josh Simons, opening the door for Andy Burnham to pave his way back into government.
It will be a tough battle for the Makersfield constituency, but Wes Streeting, who resigned as Health Secretary on Thursday, says Burnham has “the best chance of winning” the by-election.
So, could the Mayor of Manchester be our next Prime Minister?
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Newsagents podcast is brought to you by HSBC UK, opening up a world of opportunity. |
| 0:09.0 | This is a global player original podcast. |
| 0:12.6 | The old Lenin quote, there are decades where nothing happens and there are weeks where decades happen. |
| 0:19.5 | This week, it's felt like a bit of both. |
| 0:22.5 | Kirstama overseeing an election effort |
| 0:24.9 | that he must pretend that he desperately wants to win, |
| 0:27.6 | knowing that basically what all of this is |
| 0:29.6 | is a slow motion frame-by-frame coup. |
| 0:32.7 | People are trying to get rid of Kirstama. |
| 0:34.4 | They're trying to get rid of Kirstama |
| 0:35.5 | because they think he's useless. |
| 0:36.8 | So there's the old Lenin quote. There are decades where nothing happens and there are weeks |
| 0:42.8 | where decades happened. This week, it's felt like a bit of both. Kirstama is still prime minister. |
| 0:50.3 | There is no leadership challenge. So nothing much has happened. And yet. And yet, at the end of a |
| 0:58.3 | week where the Labour Party has been convulsed, it finally seems they have a plan and it's about a man, |
| 1:05.5 | Andy Burnham, who finally has a seat to fight to get back into Parliament. |
| 1:13.5 | We are therefore looking at a by-election, |
| 1:16.8 | the likes of which we have never seen before, |
| 1:23.0 | where 70,000 people might be choosing the next Prime Minister for 70 million of us. |
| 1:24.9 | Welcome to the newsagents. |
| 1:31.0 | The Newsagents. |
| 1:34.5 | It's John. It's Lewis. |
... |
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