Burnham claims Labour is in ‘peril’ as he refuses to pledge loyalty to Starmer – Labour conference live

Labour MP John McDonnell has predicted that the prime minister will resign if May 2026 elections go badly for the party.

“I know Keir. I’ve worked with him. If we’re still in this situation in six or nine months time in the polls – he’s a responsible person, he’ll ask himself the question about whether he’s the right leader for this party,” the Mr McDonnell told Ayesha Hazarika on Times Radio on Sunday.

“He’s not going to put our party or the country at risk. He’ll make his own mind up that he’s not the person for the job.”

He added: “I think if we get to next May and those elections are dire as they might be, and if we’re still behind in the polls, I don’t think it will take people coming along to oust him. I think he’ll say: look for the interest of the party and the country, I’ll go.”

The prime minister could yet defy the prophets of doom, writes John Rentoul – and with Reform UK at ‘peak Farage’, the future looks set for coalitions rather than outright majorities:

“I think it’s time we start calling out snake-oil salesmanship and the divisiveness of Nigel Farage,” said former Labour MP Jonathan Ashworth.

“That man could be the prime minister of our country.”

He continued: “Nigel Farage is talking about rounding people up and deporting them. Let’s call that out for the nasty, divisive politics that it is. If that means a fight at the next General Election, then my word we’re ready for it.”

David Smith, MP for North Northumberland, argued that the success of Nigel Farage and Reform UK is partly Labour’s fault.

“The rise of Reform is about us ceding the ground to them,” he said at the Labour conference on Sunday. “It’s about us ceasing to be able to talk to the working class in a way that they can understand and connect with.”

Reform UK leader issued a brief statement on Sunday in response to Keir Starmer’s statements on his migration policy, writing on X/Twitter: “Keir Starmer has spent his entire weekend attacking Reform. This is the reason why.”

He shared an image of poll results indicating that Reform are on course to win a majority at the next General Election.

The Greater Manchester mayor said he had “launched a debate on our direction” and insisted he wanted the Prime Minister to succeed.

“One thing I am worried about, and I think we do need to debate at this conference in my view, is how can you have an open debate about all of those things if there’s too much of a climate of fear within our party and the way the party is being run,” he told a fringe event at the Labour Party conference.

Mr Burnham criticised a situation where “a party member is suspended for liking a tweet by another political party, or a Member of Parliament loses the whip for trying to protect disability benefits.”

He received a round of applause from the audience.

“If that is the way we’re doing things, where debate is being closed down, that to me is what we’ve got to change.”

Police have begun arresting demonstrators in support of banned group Palestine Action, outside the Labour conference in Liverpool.

A Merseyside Police spokesman said: “We can confirm that officers are in attendance at a Defend Our Juries protest near to The Wheel of Liverpool this afternoon, Sunday 28 September.

“Some of the people in attendance have displayed material in support of Palestine Action.

“Officers are in the process of making arrests on suspicion of wearing/carrying an article supporting a proscribed organisation.”

Palestine Action was proscribed a terrorist organisation earlier this year.

Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens has warned that Nigel Farage and Reform UK pose a “serious threat” to Wales, its health service and the livelihoods of public service employees.

In her speech, she said the populist group “don’t care about Wales” and “can’t even spell Caerphilly right”.

Labour peer and former MP for Battersea Lord Alf Dubs told a fringe event at the Labour conference in Liverpool: “I’m just disappointed at some of the legislation and some of the things put over by Government ministers who I thought were friends of mine and who I thought were good.”