The 2025/26 season is drawing to a close and, after another eventful year for Welsh rugby, it feels like the right time to reflect on what has unfolded.

It has been a challenging campaign for Cardiff, the Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets, with financial uncertainty and off-field turbulence often overshadowing matters on the pitch. Yet there have still been notable positives.

Cardiff’s run to the United Rugby Championship play-offs was a significant achievement, while a number of players across the four regions produced performances that offered genuine encouragement for the future.

There have also been plenty of setbacks along the way and no shortage of areas requiring improvement as Welsh rugby continues to search for stability.

With the season drawing to a close, here are the WalesOnline rugby awards for 2025/26.

Player of the season – Rhys Carré

There were many contenders, and Dragons backrower Aaron Wainwright was close, but we have plumped for Rhys Carré.

Just three years ago Carré was kicked out of the Wales squad by Warren Gatland for not meeting fitness targets and he seemed destined to join the long list of talented players who did fulfil their potential on the international stage.

A move back to Saracens has certainly played a part in Carré’s resurgence and the 28-year-old has taken his game to another level this season for Wales.

The powerful loosehead did his job in the scrum but is punching his weight as a ball carrier on the biggest stage and is having huge game-defining moments.

His sensational solo try in the narrow defeat against Ireland in Dublin will live long in the memory.

Most improved player – Rhys Barratt

The 24-year-old has kicked on enormously this season and has impressed for Cardiff throughout.

Barratt is a solid scrummager, but he brings so much with his work rate around the park.

He is a very explosive carrier who makes a lot of tackles and is a jackal threat, while he is also a talented ball player, as evidenced by a tremendous 50/22 in the victory over Racing 92 in January.

The fact he has been officially called up to the senior Wales squad for the first time is testament to the impact he has made this season.

Breakthrough player – Bryn Bradley

The 23-year-old has long been regarded as one of Welsh rugby’s brightest prospects, but this was the campaign in which Bradley truly announced himself as a player of genuine substance.

Harlequins have struggled badly at times this season but Bradley has been one of their better players and has established himself as a permanent fixture in the starting XV.

Bradley was thrown in at the deep end in a Champions Cup fixture in La Rochelle in January and was outstanding, helping Harlequins to a famous 27-17 victory.

He is a powerful carrier who consistently gets over the gainline and has an excellent offloading game.

His first call-up to the Wales squad is more than justified.

Most underrated player – Dan Thomas

The 32-year-old has been outstanding for Cardiff this season and it would be a struggle to find a player more consistent.

Thomas is a workhorse who puts his body on the line and does the unseen dirty work which allows others to shine.

The former Scarlets, Gloucester and Bristol Bears backrower has made more tackles than any other player in the URC this season (232), while he is a scavenger at the breakdown.

He is very unlucky not to make the Wales squad but Thomas has been worth his weight in gold for Cardiff since joining from Bristol.

Best signing – Fletcher Anderson

The Scarlets signing narrowly pips Ospreys second-row Ryan Smith to this award.

Anderson has been nothing short of a revelation since arriving in west Wales from the Crusaders. He is one of the best ball-carrying backrowers in the URC and consistently makes significant post-contact metres.

The 23-year-old produces big moments in games and the Scarlets have done well to retain his services.

Anderson has already confirmed he is open to represent Wales when he qualifies on residency in 2030 and the Welsh Rugby Union must help the Scarlets make that a reality.

Most disappointing signing – MacKenzie Martin

The 22-year-old made a fast start to his professional career, making his Wales debut against Ireland in 2024 at the age of just 20 after just a handful of games for Cardiff.

After falling off the radar it was hoped a loan move to the Dragons could reinvigorate his career but that hasn’t been the case.

Martin has spent some of the season out injured but he has struggled to make an impact when on the field of play and quickly fell out of favour at Rodney Parade.

It is such a shame because the 22-year-old has the physical attributes and natural talent to develop into a top player.

Martin has decided to take up a contract offer with French PRO D2 outfit Béziers and one hopes it is not a case of out of sight out of mind for the talented backrower.

Biggest mess – Y11 deal to buy Cardiff

The whole saga surrounding Y11’s bid to buy Cardiff was extremely messy and evidently had a detrimental effect on players and staff at the Ospreys.

The Welsh Rugby Union’s decision to choose Y11 over a consortium which included three prominent Hollywood directors as their preferred bidder to buy Cardiff set off a destructive chain of events.

While the WRU deny this, Swansea Council leader Rob Stewart claimed they were using the Y11 bid for Cardiff as a way to cut down to three professional teams.

He claimed the WRU’s intentions were to demote the Ospreys to semi-professional status in Super Rygbi Cymru.

The WRU deny this and said Y11 had been given permission from the URC to own both Cardiff and the Ospreys.

As a result Swansea Council launched legal action against the WRU while Ospreys supporters launched widescale protests at games.

In the end the WRU and Y11 could not reach an agreement and the governing body has decided to take Cardiff off the market.

Few episodes in recent Welsh rugby history have been handled more chaotically, and it is difficult to see how Ospreys players, staff and supporters can place their trust in Y11 when its proposed takeover of Cardiff could have led to the demise of Wales’ most successful region.

Result of the season

This has to be the Dragons’ stunning victory over French giants Stade Francais in the Challenge Cup round of 16.

It is hard enough to beat a French club at home but to win away in Paris was a special achievement.

This was an epic contest where the Dragons raced into an early lead before the Parisians came racing back to claim the lead.

But the Men of Gwent fought back with former Wales and Lions prop Wyn Jones scoring the winning try deep in injury time.

After years of frustration and false dawns, the Dragons and their supporters were richly deserving of a victory of such significance.

Biggest loss – Aaron Wainwright

Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake’s departures from the Ospreys to join Gloucester represent significant losses, but Wainwright’s exit from the Dragons is arguably the biggest of the three.

Wainwright will join English giants Leicester Tigers next season bringing an end to a decade at Rodney Parade.

The 28-year-old is one of the finest players ever to put on a Dragons shirt and has taken his game to the next level this season.

Filo Tiatia has signed Terrell Peita from Northland and the Blues as a replacement. He has some very big shoes to fill.

Biggest disappointment – Wales Women

This award goes to both Wales Women and the Scarlets.

Yes, Wales are playing catch-up with many of the other tier one nations when it comes to women’s rugby but they should be doing better.

Sunday’s 43-24 defeat at home to Italy left Wales with the Six Nations Wooden Spoon for the third season in a row.

Given the WRU’s investment into the women’s game over the past few season’s that is not good enough and things must change or the pressure will continue to mount on head coach Sean Lynn.

Police are hunting a suspected gunman who opened fire at a restaurant in Tarsus in the south of Turkey after allegedly killing his ex-wife with a rifle

A massive search is underway for a suspected gunman who opened fire at a restaurant before reportedly attacking further victims during his escape. The incident took place today in the southern Turkish town of Tarsus, located close to the port city of Mersin.

According to local media reports, the suspect used his vehicle to launch the attack, firing into the eatery from his car. At least five individuals have been confirmed dead and a further seven people sustained injuries in the series of violent assaults that followed, reports The Mirror.

CNN Türk reported that the suspect killed his ex-wife with a rifle and fled in his car. The outlet said he also opened fire on the restaurant restaurant in Kadelli Neighborhood of Tarsus with a gun from the window of his car.

Following the shooting at the restaurant in Tarsus, the suspect then reportedly fled in the vehicle. Turkish news outlet tabyadijital.com said that the suspect injured seven people along his escape route.

Emergency services flooded the scene, taking the wounded to hospital while security forces set up a cordon around the various crime scenes.

It is also being reported in local media that two of those who tragically died are the owner and an employee of the restaurant where the terrifying scenes unfolded. Another two people, a shepherd grazing his flock and a lorry driver were also shot to death.

Police have launched a large-scale manhunt with helicopter support as they try to find and arrest the gunman. Cops are monitoring traffic on the highways in the region and teams are also using drones to try and apprehend the suspected shooter.

​The conversion of a garage into a hair salon has been given retrospective approval at 3 Greenfinch Close, Crossgates in Scarborough, following North Yorkshire Council’s decision to give plans the green light.

​According to a statement submitted by a planning agent, the applicant, Mrs Robinson, was “under the impression that this type of development would not require planning consent”.

​“The applicant wishes to place on record that she had no intention of flouting the planning rules and was under the genuine belief that such small-scale activities would not require permission,” it adds.

​The salon will offer haircuts, colours, and styling to customers who are predominantly residents within the local community in which she serves.

Garage Converted Into Hair Salon. Greenfinch Close, Scarborough. Google Maps

​“The applicant had built up an existing client base working in the area until she decided to set up her own business, and therefore her clients, some of whom are elderly, must be able to easily access the salon within the local community,” according to submitted plans.

​The applicant proposed opening hours from 8am to 6pm, Tuesday to Saturday only.

​No objections were made by Seamer Parish Council.

​The Highway Authority said that a suitable level of parking would be maintained within the site, including parking for the operation of the hair salon, and added that the increase in vehicle movements and parking could be accommodated at the site.

​However, the council’s environmental health officers recommended that conditions be imposed to mitigate any impacts on neighbouring residents.

​An officer said: “Hairdressing activities typically generate low-level noise from conversation and hairdryers. However, the property is positioned within a tight residential area, and therefore any commercial activity has the potential to impact on neighbouring amenity.”

​The officer suggested that the council include conditions that cover the hours of operation, a restriction to hairdressing services only, limiting the number of clients, and waste management.

​Planning officers agreed with the recommendation, and said it would be “appropriate to impose conditions in relation to hours of operation, restrictions on hairdressing use only, client number limits”.

​A report states: “It is felt that the current hours of operation are appropriate for the scale of business and residential setting and therefore will be secured by condition.”

​The retrospective application was approved by North Yorkshire Council, subject to conditions.

Plans to install 10 fishing lodges and build a new shower block with toilets and office at Pottery Pond, in Strensall, have been lodged with York Council.

Plans stated they aimed to boost the viability of the business by allowing anglers to stay longer which would bring in higher fees.

The new fishing lodges would be put up around the lake which is at a former clay pit off Strensall’s Pottery Lane.

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It lies within a site covering a total area of 2.42ha, including woodland in the green belt.

Trees and plants on the southern part of the site screens the lake during summer.

The site also includes a 10-space parking area.

Two types of lodges, one smaller and another larger, would be installed around the lake.

Plans stated the lodges and new facilities aimed to encourage people to stay at the lake longer and raise income which could be invested in better fish stocks.

Pottery Pond, in Pottery Lane, Strensall, York (Image: Google Street View)

They added the improvements would help to boost wildlife habitats there, along with the local economy.

Plans also stated the social, economic and environmental benefits weighed in the application’s favour, given it would result in development on green belt land.

The application stated: “The applicant is proposing 10 lodges and amenity facilities to improve the viability of the business by encouraging longer stays and increased fee income from the hire of the lodges, which will enable anglers to stay overnight on the site.

“The increase in numbers of anglers using the site and staying in the lodges for a number of nights year-round will have benefits for the local economy through increased spending.

“Several authoritative studies quantify the economic contribution of fishing
ponds, lakes and inland recreational fisheries to the rural economy in England.”

Criminal Record has brought together a round-up of today’s biggest crime stories.

Every day on Criminal Record we will be bringing you a round-up of the biggest crime stories of the day.

If you love to read about crime in Scotland – this is the place to be every day.

Here’s what has been making the news across the country on Monday.

Four Celtic fans jailed after Old Firm violence

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Four Celtic fans have been jailed and issued banning orders after violent clashes with Rangers supporters before the 2024 League Cup final. Andrew Campbell, John Devine and Thomas Slavin and Liam Coogans admitted being involved in the mob which brought chaos and fear to Glasgow city centre 10 days before Christmas.

Violence erupted after balaclava-clad groups of ultras confronted each other in the city centre hours before the Old Firm final on December 15, 2024. Christmas shoppers, tourists and children were forced to flee and take cover in nearby shops and cafes as “mass disorder” broke out.

Some premises locked their doors for the safety of customers and staff. Glasgow Sheriff Court heard how the men formed part of a disorderly crowd which repeatedly blocked the roadway for vehicles, engaged in a running fight with Rangers supporters, threw lit fireworks, bricks and bottles and placed the public in a state of fear and alarm.

READ MORE: Four Celtic fans jailed over shocking violence before 2024 cup final against Rangers

Two men arrested after Belfast murder

Two men have been arrested in Scotland on suspicion of the murder of a 51-year-old in Belfast.

Nicholas Gordon was assaulted in the Holywood Road area of Belfast on Tuesday, May 12, and died in hospital as a result of his injuries on Saturday.

The men, aged 25 and 31, were arrested in Scotland on Monday by officers from Police Scotland.

A PSNI spokesperson said: “Arrangements will be made for their return to Northern Ireland where they will be questioned by detectives from the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

“Inquiries are ongoing.”

READ MORE: Two arrested in Scotland after alleged murder of man in Belfast

Gangster admits involvment in £14 million drugs operation

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A high profile member of a Scots crime gang has admitted his involvement in a £14m drugs operation. John Gray, 53, was associates with gangster brothers Barry and James Gillespie as well as James ‘The Don’ White.

White was jailed for almost 10 years in 2023 for the importation of drugs having been extradited from Brazil to Scotland.

The Gillespies whereabouts are presently unknown which resulted in White taking control of the group who had links with other underworld figures.

Gray was snared by police meeting the trio at a variety of locations in 2015 which included Glasgow city centre’s Princes Square and a KFC in Wishaw, Lanarkshire.

His five years of “top tier level” crime was uncovered after law enforcement breached an encrypted phone device Gray had been using. Gray was arrested on a warrant at Glasgow Airport in March 2026 as he stepped off a plane.

READ MORE: High-ranking gangland figure admits role in £14m drugs operation

Trans killer pictured with lover in jail

Scotland’s most controversial jail couple posed for a gay Pride celebration behind bars.

Child killer Nyomi Fee and long-time partner Alexandra Stewart – a biological male who murdered a man in 2013 – smiled for the camera inside Darroch Hall at HMP Greenock.

The photo was taken in happier times for the pair, as the Daily Record revealed recently that they have broken off their engagement.

Fee, who is dwarfed by her hulking fiancee in the photo, is said to still be on “good friends” terms with Stewart, who was formerly known as Alan Baker but chose to live as a woman before being jailed for the murder of John Weir, who he met via a gay dating app.

Last month, the Daily Record revealed that Stewart, 38, had been charged with the alleged sexual assault of a female prisoner in the hairdresser at HMP Greenock.

READ MORE: Outrage as picture shows trans jail lover Alex Stewart and child killer girlfriend Nyomi Fee

“On the claims that Channel 4 may have failed in its duty of care, I believe that when concerns about contributor welfare were raised, and based on the information available at the time, Channel 4 acted quickly, appropriately, sensitively and with wellbeing front and centre.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A federal court on Monday dismissed claims filed against OpenAI and its top executives by Elon Musk, who accused them of betraying a shared vision for it to guide artificial intelligence’s development as a nonprofit dedicated to humanity’s benefit.

Musk, the world’s richest man, was a co-founder of OpenAI, the company that launched in 2015 and went on to create ChatGPT. After investing $38 million in its first years, Musk accused OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and his top deputy of shifting into a moneymaking mode behind his back.

The nine-person jury found that Musk waited too long to file his lawsuit and missed the deadline for the statute of limitations.

The jury served in an advisory role, but Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers accepted the verdict Monday as the court’s own and dismissed Musk’s claims. The jury deliberated only two hours before returning its verdict.

The trial that began April 27 in Oakland, California shed light on the bitter falling-out between the two Silicon Valley titans and the beginnings of OpenAI, now a company valued at $852 billion and moving toward potentially one of the largest initial public offerings in history.

Altman and OpenAI claimed there was never a promise to keep OpenAI a nonprofit forever. In fact, they argued, Musk knew this and filed his lawsuit because he couldn’t have unilateral control over the fast-growing AI developer.

Musk was seeking damages to be paid to the altruistic efforts of OpenAI’s charitable arm as well as Altman’s ouster from OpenAI’s board. Musk’s decision to stop funding the company contributed to a bitter rift between the former allies. Musk says he was responding to deceptive conduct that OpenAI’s board picked up on when it fired Altman as CEO in 2023 before he got his job back days later.

The three-week trial saw testimony from Musk, Altman and his top lieutenant Greg Brockman, along with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and a slew of others in the tech titans’ orbit. Musk told jurors on his first of three days on the stand that, fundamentally, “I think they’re going to try to make this lawsuit … very complicated, but it’s actually very simple,” Musk said. “Which is that it’s not OK to steal a charity.”

Musk’s lawsuit claimed that, in addition to “breach of charitable trust,” Altman and Brockman unjustly enriched themselves from the windfall as the ChatGPT maker soared in valuation. Brockman revealed during the trial that his stake in OpenAI is worth about $30 billion.

OpenAI has brushed off Musk’s allegations as an unfounded case of sour grapes aimed at undercutting its rapid growth and bolstering Musk’s own xAI, which he launched in 2023 as a competitor. During cross-examination, Musk was sometimes combative with OpenAI lawyer William Savitt.

“Your questions are not simple,” Musk said at one point. “They are designed to trick me essentially.”

Jurors also heard from witnesses including OpenAI ex-board members Helen Toner and Tasha McCauley, who spoke about the decision to fire Altman in 2023. They were ousted from the board themselves when Altman returned to his role a few days later.

Altman and Musk both vied to be OpenAI’s CEO in its early years. In his testimony, Altman said he had concerns about Musk’s attempts to gain more control over OpenAI, which was aiming to safely build a better-than-human form of AI called artificial general intelligence.

“Part of the reason we started OpenAI is we didn’t think AGI could be under the control of any one person, no matter how good their intents are,” Altman said.

Near the end of his testimony, Altman said that before things turned sour, he had thought very highly of Musk.

“I felt like he had abandoned us, not come through on his promises, put the company in a very difficult place, jeopardized the mission, didn’t really care about the things I thought he cared about,” Altman said. “It’s been an extremely painful thing for me … to have someone that I respected so much not acknowledge that and continue to publicly attack us.”

The service level agreement will build on the success of existing programmes, supporting people of all ages to access training, develop skills and move into fair and sustainable employment.

A fresh agreement between North Lanarkshire Council and employability company Routes to Work Ltd will help ensure continued employability support for residents across local communities.

The service level agreement will build on the success of existing programmes, supporting people of all ages to access training, develop skills and move into fair and sustainable employment.

Routes to Work, which is owned by the council, plays a key role in delivering community-based employability services. It provides tailored support to people who are unemployed or facing barriers to work, including help with training, work experience and practical costs such as childcare and travel.

The latest figures show strong progress over the past year, with council-funded programmes exceeding their job outcome targets. Overall, 1,434 people moved into employment, surpassing the original target, with 71% still in work after 26 weeks.

The programmes have also supported residents who face additional challenges. Thirteen per cent of those who found work had previously been economically inactive, including people with long-term health conditions or caring responsibilities.

The new agreement will continue to focus on supporting those who need it most, particularly young people, parents on low incomes and individuals with health or justice-related barriers. It introduces two main programmes: a new all-age employment support service and a continued focus on parental employment.

Together, these programmes aim to support more than 2,000 residents over the year, with a strong emphasis on helping people secure and sustain employment.

READ MORE: IT manager caught with over 16,000 child abuse images put on sex offenders’ register for five years

Councillor Alex McVey, Convener of Enterprise and Fair Work, said: “This new agreement will help us build on the strong progress already made in supporting residents into work across North Lanarkshire.

“We know that having a job can make a real difference to people’s lives, and this continued investment means more residents will be able to access the right support, skills and opportunities to move into sustained employment.”

Kate Clark, Chief Executive of Routes to Work, said: “We are grateful to North Lanarkshire Council for their continued support of our drive and commitment to providing innovative employability services which meet the needs of the people of North Lanarkshire.”

The investment also reflects the council’s ongoing commitment to improving economic opportunities and tackling poverty, as set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire.

Residents can access support through North Lanarkshire’s Working, with referrals available through a range of channels to ensure people are directed to the most appropriate help.

READ MORE: Block of flats in one part of Wishaw set to be demolished next month

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Chelsea FC losing the 2026 FA Cup final 1-0 to Manchester City will have been disappointing for the club’s fans. But perhaps the result was not hugely surprising, as the London club hasn’t had a brilliant season on the pitch.

Off the pitch, you could argue it’s been even worse.

Moments of anguish have included the expensive sacking in April 2026 of manager Liam Rosenior after just 106 days in the job. He was the side’s fifth manager (or head coach) in three years.

A month before that, Chelsea was fined over £10 million by the Premier League for breaching financial regulations – the biggest fine the league has ever imposed.

Added to (or taken away from) this, Chelsea then also posted the largest ever pre-tax financial loss in Premier League history. This amounted to £262.2 million in the 2024-25 season.

Not all of these events can be blamed on the club’s current owners, the US consortium known as BlueCo. Previously owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, Chelsea was sold in 2022 as a “distressed asset”, meaning that it needed to be sold quickly (and probably not for its full worth). This was because Abramovich’s assets had been frozen over his links to Vladimir Putin following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

When the new owners bought the club, they started combing through the financial books and found evidence of breaches of Premier League regulations which the club itself reported.

Part of this related to just over £47 million worth of undisclosed payments to unregistered agents and others as part of their plans to buy in new players. According to league rules, all payments relating to transfers need to go through the club books for reasons of fairness.

Leaving tens of millions of pounds out of the records means that the club shows fewer expenses than it should. This in turn could potentially shield it from breaking the league’s “profitability and sustainability” (PSR) rules, which are designed to force clubs into being financially sound businesses.

Those rules mean that clubs are allowed to build up footballing losses of no more than £105 million over a three-year period. Given Chelsea have been making losses for years, correctly recording expenses would increase those losses and potentially put them in breach of the PSR rules.

A fine of £10.75m is no small matter. It brings Chelsea closer to the PSR limit for the coming year, leaving more belt-tightening around spending decisions.

At the time, the club said in a statement: “From the outset of this process, the club has treated these matters with the utmost seriousness, providing full cooperation to all relevant regulators.”

But it is not just Chelsea that is affected. Football is a highly interconnected industry.

While clubs compete against each other, they are also very dependent on each other for matches (otherwise there would be nothing to watch and no tickets to sell) and for players. They also often suffer losses, with cash flow issues and other financial problems common. So having a competitor spend more than they should can negatively affect other clubs.

Football blues

Chelsea have also led the way in doing clever things within accounting rules, which others have followed. In 2023, the club started offering new players very long-term contracts which allowed them to spread their declared costs over a longer period.

So for example, a player bought for £90 million might be given a nine-year contract, meaning the annual cost can be recorded as £10 million.

This can help a club to stay within within PSR boundaries. But it also comes with financial risk (with big spending and time commitments), so to avoid other clubs following suit, both Uefa and the Premier League have now limited (to five) the number of years that can be used in the spending calculation.

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Chelsea also effectively sold its women’s team to itself by switching ownership to Chelsea’s parent company for almost £200 million. This shows up as a decent profit for Chelsea, providing another benefit in terms of staying within PSR boundaries. The idea caught on, with Aston Villa and Everton doing the same thing before the Premier League closed this loophole too.

So from a financial perspective it will be interesting to see what tactics Chelsea comes up with next. The fans though will surely be more interested in the tactics chosen by the club’s latest signing, manager Xabi Alonso. And if he gets the club winning again, they’ll happily write off this season’s considerable losses.

Downing Street is involved in a plot to derail Andy Burnham’s hopes of returning to parliament, allies of the Greater Manchester mayor have claimed.

Fears have been raised that the Labour leadership will “soft-play” support for Mr Burnham in the by-election, asking MPs to campaign for him but not setting a three-line whip.

Labour MPs have also been told by allies of the beleaguered prime minister that Mr Burnham could bring back former leader Jeremy Corbyn, who was expelled from the party in 2024 due to a row over antisemitism.

Many Labour backbenchers believe that the party does not stand a chance in Makerfield, where Reform recently won almost all the council seats. Sources indicated that Reform was set to announce local plumber and councillor, Robert Kenyon, as its candidate, but it could now be Dr David Bull, who stepped down as party chairman on Monday afternoon.

A source close to Sir Keir has conceded that if Mr Burnham wins in Makerfield “then he will almost certainly become prime minister”.

Polling experts Professor Sir John Curtice and Lord Robert Hayward also said that Mr Burnham will become the next Labour leader if he wins the by-election.

Allies of former health secretary Wes Streeting have scoffed at the idea that stopping Mr Burnham getting elected will save the prime minister, warning that thousands of activists are ready to campaign for a candidate ready to unseat him.

But in a sign that the fight is going to get nasty, a close ally of the prime minister said: “You have to look at what the price is for the support of the Socialist Campaign Group on the left for Andy. It could be bringing Corbyn back and a hard line on Israel. How would that work when we have peak antisemitism as a problem at the moment, not least with the attack in Manchester? That’s what colleagues need to think about.”

Sir Keir said on Monday that he would support “100 per cent” whoever is the Labour candidate for the seat, which is seen as a two-horse race between Reform and Labour.

But he insisted he will not set a timetable for his departure.

Asked about setting a date for standing down, he said: “I’m not going to do that. It is obviously a very important by-election.

“Can I be really clear, as I was with my staff as well, it is a fight between Labour and Reform. It’s a very important fight.

“I will be backing 100 per cent whoever the candidate is – they’re not quite chosen yet, but soon to be chosen – whoever the Labour candidate is. I’ll be 100 per cent behind them.”

Meanwhile, a furious deputy prime minister David Lammy accused Labour MPs of “scoring a spectacular own goal” and “shooting ourselves in the foot” by trying to depose Sir Keir.

But a key ally of Mr Burnham on the left of the party told The Independent: “Anyone who thought the political culture inside Labour and No 10, the culture that appointed Peter Mandelson, somehow died with the departure of Morgan and Mandelson, now has their answer.

“The party, its members, its voters and the country deserve better than a politics run by cliques, patronage and self-preservation. That culture has done enough damage already.”

Mr Burnham, meanwhile, made a major speech in Leeds seen by many as laying out his agenda if he was to become prime minister.

He made little secret of his ambition, he used a confident address to tell his audience he wanted to talk about the “big changes” he believes are required in the way Britain is run.

He also said that a vote for him – if he is selected for the by-election – was a “vote to make life more affordable again… to power up places… to re-industrialise”.

Prof Curtice said: “It’s going to be Burnham [as Labour leader] if he wins in Makerfield.”

“Streeting is not popular inside the Labour Party. It’s difficult to see how he wins.

“So if Burnham isn’t in the race, it’s probably Rayner rather than Miliband. And Rayner only narrowly beats Starmer, so it depends on whether she can convince the party to get behind her.”

Lord Hayward suggested that Mr Streeting’s intervention on rejoining the EU was the one thing which could derail Mr Burnham in a strongly leave voting constituency.

He said: “When Andy Burnham declared I immediately thought he would win, not by a large margin but would get over the line because he is so well known in the Greater Manchester area. That was despite Reform sweeping the seats in Wigan in the recent local elections.

“But when Wes Streeting made his speech and called for the UK to rejoin the EU, I changed my mind. I think Andy Burnham could now lose because this was such a pro-Leave seat. It is not definite but there is significant doubt over him winning.

“It would seem like a clever move by Streeting to sabotage Burnham’s chances.”

A close ally of the PM warned that the Sir Keir believes the “incredibly broad” coalition of support for Mr Burnham within Labour is “already fracturing.”

The source noted that Blue Labour on the right with a pro-Israel, tough on immigration and anti-trans stance is supporting the Greater Manchester mayor along with the Socialist Campaign Group which is anti-Israel, opposes immigration measures and supports trans rights.

“We are only three days into the [by-election] campaign and that coalition of support is already fracturing. Andy cannot just hold it together through personality alone. He is going to have to make decisions on positions and compromises. That’s going to annoy different supporters.”

The source added: “The Brexit issue is a classic problem for Andy. He cannot say he wants to rejoin the EU but does not want to talk about it in a by-election in a pro-Leave seat. You cannot avoid the questions.

“Our positions have come through difficult compromises which the PM has stood by and Andy will need to do the same thing.”

But an ally of Mr Streeting told The Independent: “If Starmer thinks that stopping Andy will save him then he’s deluded.

“We have hundreds of defeated candidates waiting to campaign against the PM because they are so angry.

“Wes will definitely stand even if Burnham loses in Makerfield and I am certain from the feedback I am getting that he would defeat Starmer.”