Burnham unopposed & likely to be PM by mid July

[Twiglets1]

Wes Streeting confirms on social media that he won’t stand as a candidate for the Labour leadership. He says that a contest where candidates spent the summer “exaggerating small differences” would not be good for the party or the country, and having spoken to Burnham, he is confident that that there is “a place” for the policies he has been advocating under a Burnham premiership.

The Guardian say this means it is now very, very likely that Burnham will be PM be mid July. It is conceivable that another candidate may come forward. But, apart from Streeting, no one else has publicly signalled an intention to stand, and with Burnham now a shoo-in, it is hard to imagine any other MP getting the support they would need to be a candidate.

heguardian.com/politics/live/2026/jun/22/keir-starmer-resignation-timeable-andy-burnham-labour-leadership-prime-minister-latest-news-updates?page=with%3Ablock-6a390a538f08adffab1e97fd#block-6a390a538f08adffab1e97fd

Must admit I'm surprised (and disappointed) that Streeting isn't standing.

Reading between the lines, he probably feels like he doesn't have enough support and Burnham has promised him a Cabinet position if he endorses his leadership.

This hasn’t been confirmed yet. If there is just one candidate they will take over mid-July if more than candidate it will be early September after contest.

No it hasn't been confirmed yet but it is very likely.

The only half serious potential contenders against him now would be Ed Miliband, Alistair Carns or Angela Rayner. But none of them are at all likely to win against Andy Burnham so a more pragmatic thing for them to do would be to signal allegiance to him.

Yes, I think it's highly likely that he has realised that he doesn't have the numbers. And he has probably been promised one of the big cabinet jobs.

I don't think Streeting would have got the votes of party members in anything like the numbers needed.

He's too Blairy and was too close to Mandelson.

Occupying a marginal set that's vulnerable to being seized by an independent doesn't help either.

The BBC correspondents seem absolutely convinced Burnham will be elected unopposed. He must have done a lot of deals over the weekend. Streeting's letter confirming he wouldn't stand was out around an hour after Starmer's resignation, and during that time Burnham was saying goodbye to his staff in Manchester and heading for the train to London.

Any thoughts on who might be in his Cabinet? I'm assuming a new Chancellor but some of the others will stay in post.

The need for 81 MP nominations plus a union or two may be a high bar to clear as it's reported 200 are signed up to AB's flag.

Yes the BBC Chief political correspondent said, "The crude political reality is that even Labour MPs with misgivings about Burnham are now likely to back him in the hope of getting a job in his government".

Who will be in the Cabinet is an interesting one. Streeting of course, and maybe some of the others that considered running for PM? I don't know.

The momentum is with Burnham, some saying he has 300 MPs onside.

Wow 200 must be very off-putting for the others!

I'm angry about the Burnham ambush. I hope he isn't opposed so that he is in the hot seat by mid July. Let his see how easy it is now that he's got all those backbenchers to please whilst appealing to Reform voters in the red wall and Green voters in the cities. He'll be trashed by Christmas.

I think he would prefer to have until September himself but it's not his choice to make so he may well be in the hot seat by July.

Starmer will be having a lovely long holiday somewhere peaceful by then if he has any sense.

It will be quite a sight at the Cenotaph in November. One serving PM and (barring accidents) nine former PMs. Surely some sort of record.

I think the Burnham team yesterday were saying they would prefer to take over in September. That gives him time to read in and he gets to launch like a conquering hero at the conference.
It also means the Starmer regime has to deal with some of the thorny issues like the defence budget and the imminent conversion therapy bill. The last thing Burnham will want from the get go is decisive issues. He better get used to it.
He will also have to deal with the Manchester mayoral election.
Let's see how long Andymania lasts.

He might prefer to do that. If I were Keir Starmer, I'd tell him sod that, he's said he's off in early July and that's that. He can have a nice summer with his wife and kids and get ready to move up to the House of Lords (if that's what he wants) and the rest of the Labour Party can get stuck in with sorting everything out. Everything will be tickety boo by September, surely?

It's being reported that other MPs might now challenge him to avoid what's being called a 'coronation' for AB.

It does feel wrong for someone to just step into the PM role unopposed, just because one constituency deemed him fit.

Link, sorry.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2kqd9ver1o

I’m adding a lettuce to my next grocery order as we speak. Or perhaps a cabbage, I’ve heard they last slightly longer.

If (as someone up thread suggests) he would prefer to get in in September then I really hopes it is immediately. He’s going to be a disaster so he may as well get on with it so people realise he’s not the Labour party’s saviour. Let him take responsibility for not stopping unpopular bills rather than blaming ‘2 years under Starmer’. He can get on with his honeymoon period over summer.

Imagine having all those Labour MPs and not one was considered credible/capable enough to be PM. I think Burnham will be just as terrible if not worse. I’m a floating voter but will never consider voting Labour for the rest of my life - awful party.

There’s something that feels wrong to me about our new prime minister being someone who wasn’t even an mp this time yesterday and who we know nothing about really (unless you are from Manchester). A kind of arrogance, is there really no existing mp able to challenge him if only so that we hear his ideas? IMO it’s a start that risks a backlash - people will be disappointed within weeks/months when their lives don’t improve. I personally want to know what he is going to do to help businesses.

I can't think of anyone suitable to being Chancellor, which is concerning. There is not a depth of talent in the Labour Party. It doesn't garner confidence when they can't even rustle up one candidate to stand for leader amongst their existing 400, never mind a challenger.

I foresee a replay of the starmer years, but this time the blame will be placed on "the previous administration" rather than "the previous government"

It's certainly a strange situation.

I think Labour are desperate to have a likeable leader. Politics has become about personality not policies (see also Boris J and that didn't end well).

Streeting knew he didn't have the numbers as soon as he resigned, otherwise he'd have triggered a challenge then, before Burnham could be part of it. He's being pragmatic now.

I think this is the worst sort of politics and will damage the labour party significantly. I'm totally politically homeless now. Even the least worst has declined.

This.