Andy Burnham swiped at Donald Trump today as another poll showed him closing in on victory in the Makerfield by-election.

The Greater Manchester Mayor lashed out at the 'poisonous' politics of the US as he hinted at an immediate challenge to Keir Starmer if he wins.

Campaigning in the northern seat is entering a frantic final few days, with Labour increasingly confident of seeing off a challenge from Reform. Mr Burnham has seemingly been aided by Restore splitting the Right-wing vote.

A Convergent Research survey has suggested the former Cabinet minister has a 12-point lead in the contest, on 49 per cent with Reform's Robert Kenyon on 37 per cent.

Other polls have put the race much tighter, with Restore on up to 8 per cent support. Opinion is notoriously hard to sample accurately at constituency level. 

Allies of Mr Burnham have been split on how quickly he should move against the PM if he does become an MP again.

But he looks increasingly likely to act quickly, with some Burnham supporters predicting a 'coronation' by Monday despite Sir Keir vowing to fight any leadership challenge.

The premier's grip on power has been further weakened by the chaos over defence funding, which saw John Healey quit the Cabinet last week accusing him of not keeping the country safe. 

In order to secure the keys to No10 without a Labour contest, Mr Burnham would need to persuade potential rivals such as Wes Streeting, Angela Rayner and Al Carns not to stand.  

Under one plan touted by his allies, more than 100 Labour MPs would come out on Friday morning to call on Sir Keir to set out a timetable for his departure from No 10.

A letter would also be circulated to gather signatures – 81 backbenchers are required to fall behind an individual candidate in order to trigger a leadership contest. 

The MPs hope the letter will be accompanied by further ministerial resignations all the way up to Cabinet level if Sir Keir still refuses to stand aside.

Writing in the Sunday Mirror, Mr Burnham said the 'country is on quite a worrying path' - pointing to the 'polarised' politics in America, embodied by Mr Trump.

'Things are getting harder, and politics is getting more polarised, and the path we're on, if we are not careful, is towards the politics of the United States, a polarised, poisonous politics where people in communities don't work together any more.'

Mr Burnham said: 'We are in a rut in terms of things not being fixed which can create an increasingly divided politics and the country struggles to come back together.

'You could get to a point where you've got that division between people depending on how they vote. In America it's very divided and we mustn't go there. That's not been the Britain we know.

'We either carry on in the path towards unifying people or we go down a path towards a polarised political debate.'

During a campaign speech yesterday, Mr Burnham said: 'Does anyone here feel that we can just stay on the path that we're on as a country?

'It doesn't feel doable, does it? It doesn't feel that we're heading in the right direction.

'It doesn't feel like we're heading to better lives for people.

'Things are getting harder, and politics is getting more polarised, and the path we're on, if we are not careful, is a path towards the politics of the United States of America, a polarised, poisonous politics where people in communities don't work together any more.'

However, there is no clarity about what Mr Burnham's policy platform would be - with many fearing a lurch to the Left.

He has hinted at wealth taxes, revaluing council tax and called for nationalisations.

But Mr Burnham has also executed screeching U-turns on a slew of ideas, including ruling out national compensation for so-called WASPI women just hours after supporting the prospect.