On BBC Breakfast, presenter Naga Munchetty tried to pin Burnham down on whether he would see out his full term as mayor, running until 2028.<\/p>\n
“I don’t know what the world holds but I’m focused on my job here in Greater Manchester,” he responded. <\/p>\n
Pushed further, he said “I haven’t launched any leadership challenge” before adding “I’m not going to sit here this morning and rule out what might or might not happen in future – I don’t know what the future will hold.”<\/p>\n
Burnham then criticised journalists for speculating, saying he is “constantly answering hypothetical questions” and claimed MPs in Westminster were “constantly speculating and not putting forward solutions”.<\/p>\n
The Labour Party rules for any leadership challenge state that candidates must be an MP and also secure the backing of at least 80 MPs to run against the incumbent.<\/p>\n
Two Manchester MPs, Andrew Gwynne and Graham Stringer, previously ruled out stepping down from their seats so Burnham could run.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Lewis told BBC’s Politics Live that stepping aside for Burnham was “a question I’ve asked myself,” adding that the answer would have to be “yes”.<\/p>\n
The MP, who has represented Norwich South for 10 years, later told The Sun, external<\/a> he had “no plans to stand down” and had been answering a “hypothetical question”.<\/p>\n The Norwich South MP last week said Sir Keir’s position as prime minister was “untenable” and told Channel 4 News that Burnham should be given the chance to “step up”.<\/p>\n On the Today programme, presenter Emma Barnett asked Burnham whether he would take Lewis up on his offer of vacating a seat, but he would only say “I appreciate the support” and repeated how he was focused on his current job.<\/p>\n