Duncan Bannatyne, the Scottish entrepreneur who rose to fame on the BBC's Dragons' Den, has withdrawn his backing for Andy Burnham's aspirations to lead the Labour Party and become prime minister.
The businessman announced on the social media platform X on Wednesday that he could no longer support the Greater Manchester mayor after learning of his position on transgender women using female facilities.
Mr Bannatyne had initially thrown his weight behind Mr Burnham for both the Makerfield by-election and a future Labour leadership challenge against Keir Starmer.
However, the gym chain owner stated he was unable to continue that support upon discovering Mr Burnham believes trans women should be permitted to access women's toilets.
Duncan Bannatyne has withdrawn his support for Burnham
| GETTYIn his post on X, Mr Bannatyne declared: "But I cannot do that now that I found out he says transwomen, ie men, should be allowed to use the ladies' toilets. I can never support anyone that does this. Biological women must have single-sex spaces." (sic)
The health club magnate has long been a vocal advocate for sex-segregated facilities.
As owner of the Bannatyne Group, which operates 69 health clubs across the UK, he has previously committed to removing non-binary options from his company's app.
He has also warned that allowing people to self-declare their gender poses risks to women and girls.
Andy Burnham is said to be looking at a route back into Westminster | PAOn the matter of changing rooms, Mr Bannatyne has been characteristically blunt, stating: "Penises in one changing room, non-penises in the other."
Mr Burnham has a well-documented history of supporting gender self-identification policies.
In 2019, he joined fellow Labour mayors Sir Sadiq Khan, Dan Jarvis, and Steve Rotherham in signing a letter urging that self-identification become law to "transform the lives of trans people".
The mayors wrote: "It is time to listen to the voices of our trans and non-binary communities, and proceed with reforming this legislation to ensure that it benefits the communities it was intended to support."
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Last week I decided to throw my support behind @AndyBurnhamGM for leadership of the Labour Party and on to PM.
— Duncan Bannatyne (@DuncanBannatyne) May 20, 2026
But I cannot do that now that I find out he says Transwomen. IE men. Should be allowed to use the ladies toilets. I can never support anyone that does this.…
The Greater Manchester mayor has also criticised government guidance barring biological males from women's lavatories, calling it "confusing" for transgender individuals.
Last year, he declined to endorse interim guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, stating that only biological women should use female toilets and changing rooms.
In 2022, Mr Burnham described the view that biological males should be excluded from women's facilities as a "small minority view".
Mr Bannatyne has now thrown his support behind Rebecca Shepherd, the Restore Britain candidate standing in the Makerfield by-election.
Senior Labour members have said that Andy Burnham should not be opposed if he is elected in Makerfield | GETTYThe shift came after an exchange on social media, where an anonymous account urged him to back party leader Rupert Lowe's candidate instead.
Mr Bannatyne responded by asking for the candidate's name so he could research them.
Mr Lowe, the Great Yarmouth MP who founded Restore Britain three months ago after leaving Reform UK, replied personally: "A local businesswoman, Rebecca, is our candidate.
"We'd love to have your support Duncan. She is very passionate about small business and rejuvenating our high streets. Just what Makerfield needs."
Mr Bannatyne confirmed his backing, stating: "She has my support for the bye election now."
The party has never had an elected MP.