Many see Andy Burnham as UK government's savior. First he needs a seat in Parliament

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s government is in turmoil and the man many think could save it isn't even eligible for the job.

Not yet, at least, though a path is now open for Andy Burnham, the popular mayor of Greater Manchester, to try to unseat beleaguered Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

It’s far from a sure thing, as there would be big hurdles to clear.

Burnham would first need to return to Parliament, where he could then try to mount a challenge to Starmer's leadership alongside others, including former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who confirmed Saturday that he would stand in any race if and when it is triggered.

Starmer, who has vowed to lead on, has been on the ropes, facing plummeting approval ratings and questions about his judgment. His unpopularity was undoubtedly a key reason why Labour took a beating in U.K.-wide local elections this month. More than a fifth of the party's lawmakers in the House of Commons are urging him to stand down.

Burnham, 56, is seen as Starmer's biggest would-be rival, partly because he's perceived to be to the political left of the prime minister.

The mayor is known as the “King of the North,” and his Labour backers will hope that moniker reaps rewards.

The allusion to the popular Jon Snow character in “Game of Thrones” is a sign of respect earned for Burnham's fierce backing of northern England, its working class culture and heritage. It projects an image that he’s not part of the London political establishment. For many northerners, that counts for a lot.

His three sizable mayoral victories since 2017 show he can win.

But he hasn't always. Burnham, who was in the Cabinet of Gordon Brown’s government from 2007 to 2010, ran twice for the leadership of the Labour Party and lost badly — first in 2010 and then in 2015. Looking back on those campaigns, he was pretty stiff.

Ending his 16-year tenure in Parliament yielded a more polished performer and a sleeker look. Suits and ties were largely replaced by a smart-casual look, often paired with sneakers.

That may seem superficial, but it broke down barriers with voters.

More importantly, his stint as mayor made him a more effective operator and, arguably, the best communicator in Labour’s ranks.

His standing grew during the COVID-19 pandemic when he became the de facto spokesman for northern England by constantly haranguing Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson over what he called a “London-centric” approach to the crisis.

Burnham is ready to quit his job as mayor if he wins a special parliamentary election in the constituency of Makerfield, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of Manchester.

His route back to the House of Commons opened up Thursday when Labour lawmaker Josh Simons, said he would step down to make way for Burnham. Though Burnham was blocked from running for a seat that came up earlier this year, Labour’s executive body said Friday he could do so in the special election expected within weeks.

It will likely be a bruising battle in one of, if not the most, consequential special elections in U.K. history. Burnham acknowledged as much.

“I truly do not take a single vote for granted and will work hard to regain the trust of people in the Makerfield constituency, many of whom have long supported our party but lost faith in recent times,” he said when announcing his intention to run.

Simons secured the seat by about 5,400 votes two years ago, but that was in Labour’s landslide victory of 2024 that swept Conservatives out after 14 years.

Times have changed dramatically, and Labour’s recent battering came at the hands of the ascendant anti-immigrant Reform UK party on the right and, to a lesser-extent, the eco-populist Greens on the left. All the wards in the Makerfield constituency were won by Reform in the local races.

Reform’s leader, Nigel Farage, said the party would “throw absolutely everything at it.”

Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, said Burnham can capitalize on his “big name” reputation and as someone who gets things done.

“There will be a lot of people who would like to see him get back into Parliament, not least to take down Keir Starmer,” Bale said. “In some ways, it’s a useful test for Burnham because if he can’t beat Reform in that constituency, then quite frankly, he’s not much use to the Labour Party as leader.”

Labour has never ousted one of its leaders while in government, but there is a process.

If Burnham wins, he would either trigger a leadership contest or join one. To do so, a member of Parliament needs the support of a fifth — or 81 — of Labour's 403 members. Starmer, who has vowed to fight on, would automatically be entitled to run.

Wes Streeting, who resigned as health secretary on Thursday but did not directly challenge Starmer, confirmed he would be a candidate in the likely leadership election.

“We need a proper contest with the best candidates on the field, and I’ll be standing," he said.

Streeting insisted he had enough support to trigger a contest, but suggested he would “lack legitimacy” without Burnham having a chance to return to Parliament.

Streeting said the future of the U.K. was at stake in the next general election and that Labour risked being “the handmaidens of Nigel Farage” if the party did not heed the electorate's warnings last week. He also voiced his hope that the U.K. would go back into the European Union.

Others said to be considering doing so are former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, defense minister Al Carns and former party leader Ed Miliband.

For now, all permutations go through Makerfield and that result could have a seismic impact.

“Were Burnham to win the by-election, it’s unlikely that Keir Starmer will actually stand in that leadership contest,” Bale said. “If Burnham fails, then Starmer might feel he has a chance against Streeting and Rayner.”

Associated Press writer Danica Kirka contributed to this report.

Wes Streeting speaks at the Progress Conference at Convene in London, Saturday May 16, 2026. (Jeff Moore/PA via AP)

FILE - This photo combination shows, from left, Wes Streeting in Liverpool, Sept. 30, 2025, Angela Rayner in Shoreditch, London, June 5, 2025, Andy Burnham in Liverpool, Sept. 29, 2025, Shabana Mahmood in Liverpool, Sept. 29, 2025 and Ed Miliband in Hamburg, Germany, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super, Kirsty Wigglesworth, Martin Meissner, File)

FILE - Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham meet with school children at a primary school in Ashton-under-Lyne, north-west England, Monday April 13, 2026. (Paul Ellis/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham meet with school children at a primary school in Ashton-under-Lyne, north-west England, Monday April 13, 2026. (Paul Ellis/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Manchester, arrives a fringe meeting during the annual Labour Party conference in Liverpool, England, Sept. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Super, File)

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A Maldivian military diver died Saturday while searching for the bodies of four Italian divers believed to be deep inside an underwater cave.

The group of five Italian divers is believed to have died while exploring a cave at a depth of about 50 meters (160 feet) in Vaavu Atoll on Thursday, according to Italy’s Foreign Ministry. The recreational diving limit in the Maldives is 30 meters (98 feet).

Maldives presidential spokesman Mohammed Hussain Shareef said that Mohamed Mahudhee, a member of the Maldivian National Defense Force, died of underwater decompression sickness after being transferred to a hospital in the capital.

“The death goes to show the difficulty of the mission,” he said.

Earlier, Shareef said the searchers had prepared a plan based on their progress exploring the cave on Friday. Mahudhee was part of the group that briefed Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu on the rescue plan when he visited the search site on Friday.

Rough weather has repeatedly hampered rescue efforts.

Search operations on Saturday involved eight local divers who worked in shifts to locate the missing Italians, the Italian Foreign Ministry said. Initial teams had already dived to identify and mark the entrance to the cave system where the Italians disappeared.

Additional divers were expected to continue sequential dives in an effort to find and recover the bodies and bring them to the surface. The cause of the deaths remains under investigation.

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said everything possible would be done to bring the victims home. He offered his condolences for the death of the Maldivian diver during the rescue efforts.

The victims have been identified as Monica Montefalcone, an associate professor of ecology at the University of Genoa; her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal; marine biologist Federico Gualtieri; researcher Muriel Oddenino; and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, according to the Maldivian government.

Benedetti’s body was recovered on Thursday. His body was found near the mouth of the cave and authorities believed the remaining four had entered the cave.

Montefalcone and Oddenino were in the Maldives on an official scientific mission to monitor marine environments and study the effects of climate change on tropical biodiversity, the University of Genoa said in a statement Friday. However, the scuba diving activity during which the deadly accident occurred was not part of the planned research and was “undertaken privately,” it said.

The statement also said the two other victims — student Sommacal and recent graduate Gualtieri — were not involved in the scientific mission.

Carlo Sommacal, Montefalcone’s husband and Giorgia’s father, expressed doubts over the accident, saying that “something must have happened down there” given his wife and daughter's extensive experience.

Speaking to Italian TV, he described Montefalcone as a careful and highly disciplined diver who would never put her daughter or other colleagues at risk.

The Italian tour operator that manages the Maldives' diving trip denied authorizing or knowing about the deep dive that violated local limits, its lawyer told Italian daily Corriere della Sera on Saturday.

Orietta Stella, representing Albatros Top Boat, said the operator “did not know” the group planned to descend beyond 30 meters. That threshold requires special permission from Maldivian maritime authorities and the tour operator “would have never allowed it,” she said.

The dive far exceeded what was planned for a scientific cruise focused on coral sampling at standard depths, Stella added. The victims were experienced divers, but the equipment used appeared to be standard recreational gear rather than technical equipment suited for deep cave diving, she said.

She also clarified that Albatros only marketed the cruise and neither owned the vessel nor employed the crew, which was hired locally.

Cave diving is a highly technical and dangerous activity that requires specialized training, equipment and strict safety protocols. Risks increase sharply in environments where divers cannot head straight up and at depth, particularly when conditions are poor. Experts say it’s easy to become disoriented or lost inside caves, particularly as sediment clouds can sharply reduce visibility.

Diving at 50 meters also exceeds the maximum depth recommended for recreational divers by most major established scuba certifying agencies, with depths beyond 40 meters (131 feet) considered technical diving and requiring specialized training and equipment.

The Italian Foreign Ministry said the cave is divided into three large chambers connected by narrow passages. Recovery teams explored two of the three chambers on Friday, but the search was limited due to considerations over oxygen and decompression.

Two Italians, a deep-sea rescue expert and a cave diving expert, were expected to join the recovery efforts, the ministry said.

Italian officials said that around 20 other Italians on the same expedition aboard the vessel “Duke of York” were safe. Italy’s embassy in Colombo was providing assistance to those onboard and had contacted the Red Crescent, which offered to deploy volunteers to help provide psychological aid.

The Maldives Tourism Ministry said it suspended the operating license of the “Duke of York” pending an investigation.

Zampano reported from Rome.

This photograph shared by the Maldives President's Media Division, shows divers preparing to search for the four missing Italian divers near Alimathaa Island, Vaavu Atoll, Maldives, Saturday, May 15, 2026. (Maldives President's Media Division via AP)

This image released by the Maldives President's Media Division, shows a coast guard boat and other vessels deployed to search for the four missing Italian divers near Alimathaa Island, Vaavu Atoll, Maldives, Saturday, May 15, 2026. (Maldives President's Media Division via AP)

This image released by the Maldives President's Media Division, shows divers preparing to search for the four missing Italian divers near Alimathaa Island, Vaavu Atoll, Maldives, Saturday, May 15, 2026. (Maldives President's Media Division via AP)