IAN LAVERY ended speculation yesterday by ruling himself out of the Labour leadership election — and backing Andy Burnham.

But the Wansbeck MP, who on Wednesday delivered a barnstorming speech to the Fire Brigades Union conference supporting working people’s participation in politics, is still determined to play a central role in reshaping his party.

Mr Lavery said that the next Labour leader would have their work cut out resisting attacks from the toxic right-wing press who came gunning for Ed Miliband.

The former NUM president won a standing ovation from delegates when he urged them to take the fight to the new Tory government.

“This isn’t a time to sit back and reflect. We’re trade unionists — we’re born into struggle. We dust ourselves down and continue to fight like never before,” he stormed.

And he said that the argument that Labour lost the general election because it moved too far to the left was nonsense.

“What’s left-wing about supporting the NHS, about opposing zero-hours contracts?” he asked.

After the speech, he told the Star that the newspapers frightened the electorate, whipping up nationalism in Scotland and in England and setting working people against each other.

Labour would need to continue defending “those living on the breadline, people on foodbanks, the most vulnerable and disabled people.”

Mr Lavery also defended Mr Miliband’s policy platform.

“The message the party gave was that we were supporting people who are struggling,” he said.

“Of course people within the movement were disappointed the party didn’t come out with an anti-austerity message.

“The Tory propaganda machine was very effective in convincing people it was the Labour government who caused the crisis.

“We should have tackled that four years ago and not waited to say that it was the bankers and not Labour that was to blame. The narrative was won by the Tories.”

Mr Burnham will take on fellow shadow ministers Yvette Cooper, Chuka Umunna and Liz Kendall in the race for Labour’s leadership.

Shadow education secretary and scab lecturer Tristram Hunt and left-winger Jon Trickett are also being mooted as challengers.