over and that he will not walk away from the job or set out a timetable for his departure as a rival vowed to "change Labour" if he is successful in his bid to return to parliament.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham hopes to be Labour's candidate in the Makerfield by-election, which could provide him with a route back to pariament to challenge Starmer for the party leadership and the keys to Downing Street.
Starmer, speaking to reporters in London, was asked whether he would set out a timetable to stand down if his rival Burnham returns to Westminster.
"I'm not going to do that," Starmer replied.
"I do want to fight the next election. Obviously, I recognise that after the local election results, the elections in Wales and Scotland as well, that the first task is obviously turning things around and making sure that my focus is in the right place," he said.
Asked if he would fight a leadership contest if a rival had the 81 MPs needed to launch a challenge, he said: "We're not at that position … but I've said, I don't know how many times, that I'm not going to walk away."
Burnham said on Monday that Labour's offer to voters had "simply not been good enough".
In a speech at a northern investment summit in Leeds, he said: "I'm clear about what I am offering. If I get to stand, a vote for me will be a vote to change Labour, because Labour needs to change if we are to regain people's trust.
"It will be a vote to make life more affordable again, a vote to power up places, a vote to reindustrialise."
He promised a "new path which brings the country back together", adding: "I know what my party has offered in the past has simply not been good enough."
Burnham called for a "serious rewiring of this country" and "maximum devolution," adding "we can't go on with a bloated national state and a malnourished local one," he said in his speech.
Burnham said he wanted to "transfer power and resources back to local areas" if he is returned to parliament.
with PA
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