Episode
Ghostings and betrayals: Starmer's cabinet prepares for an Andy Burnham coup
- Podcast
- The State of It
- Published
- Jun 16, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1723
- Processing state
not_requested
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-state-of-it-5218105/episodes/ghostings-and-betrayals-starmer-s-cabinet-prepares-for-an-andy-burnham-coup/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-state-of-it-5218105/ghostings-and-betrayals-starmer-s-cabinet-prepares-for-an-andy-burnham-coup.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
Makerfield is the most consequential by-election in history. Andy Burnham is confident he'll win. What happens then? When and how does he make a move? What can Keir Starmer do to thwart him? We have several scoops for you today. Listen to find out which cabinet ministers are thinking of resigning after Makerfield and which senior figure has been ghosting the PM. If Andy Burnham does get to Number 10, the whole direction of his premiership will depend on who he picks for his cabinet. We bring you the latest on what his team is thinking. And of course it's also possible that Reform UK could beat Labour in Makerfield — what then? Steven Swinford, political editor, The Times Patrick Maguire, chief political commentator, The Times Lara Spirit, deputy political editor, The Sunday Times Executive producer: Molly Guinness Video editor: George Clare Picture credit: Getty Images Audio: Times Radio This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.