Labour MPs backing Mr Burnham, the mayor of Manchester, say Ms Rayner has agreed to support his bid in return for her old job as Deputy Prime Minister, plus a senior Cabinet position.
LORD ASHCROFT: My first poll of 2025 put Labour comfortably in first place. This month we find it in a sportsmanlike fourth position, behind Reform, the Conservatives and the Greens.
It is understood that the Boxing champ and his wife Paris - with whom he shares seven children - are now living in a six-bedroom £8million home close to the Isle of Man's capital Douglas.
As the year draws to a close, shell-shocked Labour MPs are asking each other two questions. 'What the hell just happened?' And 'when will Keir be forced to step down?'