Andy Burnham is expected to drop his call to reverse Brexit as he faces a crunch by-election that could see him return to Westminster and even potentially enter No 10.
He will, however, still call for close ties between the UK and the European Union, according to reports.
The man who could be the UK’s next prime minister must first win the seat of Makerfield, which voted to leave the EU in 2016.
If Mr Burnham wins that seat, he would face a challenge from former health secretary Wes Streeting, who has confirmed he will be standing, should a Labour leadership contest to replace Sir Keir Starmer be triggered.
But a new poll shows voters are split on the so-called “King of the North” and whether or not he looks like a PM in waiting.
The pro-EU Mr Burnham told last year’s Labour Party conference he wanted the UK to rejoin the bloc.
“I hope it happens in my lifetime,” he told delegates. “I believe in the unions of all kinds. The Union of the UK. The European Union and the benefits it brought this country. Trade unions? People prosper more when they’re part of unions. That’s my belief, and I’ll say it clearly.”
However, allies of the Greater Manchester mayor are reported to have been told he is not going to be “going big on Europe” in his pitch to voters and the country.
Another ally told the i Newspaper: “Of course he will want to talk about a closer relationship with Europe, but he is not going to start talking about rejoining the EU.”
Reform is expected to pull out all the stops to win the by-election, a move that risks plunging the Labour Party into chaos.
Earlier this week, Josh Simons, the Labour MP for Makerfield, announced that he was resigning his seat specifically to make way for Mr Burnham.
He said it had been a “difficult decision”, but that the mayor was someone who can “drive the change the country is crying out for” if he wins.
But he must win the seat first if he has any chance of a tilt at the Labour leadership.
A new poll, by YouGov, has found 31 per cent believe the mayor does currently look like a prime minister in waiting – but close to the same number, 27 per cent, think he does not. And, more than two in five, 42 per cent, are unsure he’s got what it takes.
Things are better in his political backyard of the North, where the figures are 38 vs 27 per cent, however.
