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

I'm sure Josh Simons will be popping up in the Lords very soon as his reward.

It seems to me the Labour Party as a whole have Imposter Syndrome. Hence why Starmer seemed to be like a rabbit caught in headlights following the huge election win in 2024 and NO PLAN! And just blamed the Tories and as soon as he stopped with that, he blamed the Bogeyman Nigel Farage (and whatever other bogeymen are coming out of the woods, like Lowe etc) like little earwigs

But none of them have a PLAN. We the public deserve a bloody plan immediately. Starmer was just getting going somehow, and got unseated, For what?! Please make it make sense. It is the 10 year anniversary of Brexit and my wedding anniversary and I am rageing
We were promised change from the Tories, Labour have delivered zero so far. They have no plan at all. It is all round shocking. We all deserve so much more, no matter who we vote for!

I very much doubt it. He’ll be back in the Commons at some point. Meanwhile I foresee a job in. Downing Street in his immediate future.

Jobs for the boys in whatever form. They are all the same.

@SheilaFentiman - the issue is the EU negotiations next month have had to be postponed because of Burnham (which could have been a motivator for growth) and the defence plan due to Healey resigning.
The two very most urgent issues facing the country defence and growth, surely Burnham must have an immediate plan on those at least and what he is doing and it has to be delivered quicker than Starmer would have done. Otherwise why the heck is he there? To fight the Bogeyman’s Bloody Shadow? What a mess!

Sorry you are right I’ve got muddled 🙈. I was thinking of the regional party list where you vote for a party but who you get depends on how many from the list get a seat and also depends on the order they’re listed. My apologies!!!

Hmm...

Josh Simons was the guy who commissioned an intrusive report into two Times reporters who were investigating an organisation he was involved with.

I'm not convinced that there was not a scandal waiting to envelope him and he jumped before it did.

Good point - maybe he's more suited to US ambassador.

Agree and change from what? The whole last manifesto and campaign was headlined by change change change. If he plans to change the change manifesto then the electorate has more a right to want a GE and have the chance to vote. Or does he mean that he will do all he can to deliver the change that Labour promised at the last GE. Either way, he’s going to have to go a bit of detail at some point as right now it’s just (good admittedly) political speeches and sound bites

Burnham said he will cut welfare to fund defense. If he delivers that quickly he could well attract voters back from Reform.

Burnham needs to get going very quickly.
Look at the US, at some point the US Government is going to turn on the tech bros (like Putin did on the oligarchs) and the massive AI bubble is going to burst. Everybody fears this, they just do not when exactly and what the fall out will look like, whether worse than the 2008 financial crash. Remember the US securitisation heating up just before the massive crash. We really need the financial planning and defence planning and pronto. We need investment in our own safer tech companies with inbuilt regulation.
If we are lucky it will be a slow mo burst, if not, it will be awful.

Quickly, but not insanely quickly (see Liz Truss, who was so obsessed with making big changes in the remaining parliamentary term, she shot herself - and the country - in the knees)

@SheilaFentiman - OK I see what you are saying. You think he might have some clear plans but they would possibly shock the bond markets/public and you believe people are working behind the scenes at it, very hard. And you think a Rachel Reeves style Treasury drip for weeks will be how it is delivered.

The problem is we are in very unsafe times. Not having a steady PM is really of grave concern to some of us and we want to see Defence upped, and not dismissed as some Tory obsession. Because we genuinely do believe there is a real problem.

@Araminta1003 you are “replying” to things I haven’t said. Again. Please stop doing that.

I have no idea if plans Burnham has would shock the bond market. My point was that a new leader moving very quickly to implement big change carries its own risks.

“I have no idea if plans Burnham has would shock the bond market. My point was that a new leader moving very quickly to implement big change carries its own risks.”

So @SheilaFentiman - why change leader at all then when there will be another election really quite soon and changes have to be delivered before then! I mean why put us all through more political uncertainty, yet again, in one of the most dangerous times in recent living history. It is truly baffling.

I'm sure he'll turn down the offer on the basis of not being self serving 🤣

The next general election has to be called by August 2029. That is just 3 years. Starmer had less than two and apparently was not fast enough.

I just do not understand what this party is playing at all. Either have a very firm plan and get going immediately. Or what was the point of further political turmoil and uncertainty for us all.

But what will be his position today at 13.10 and what will it be today at 17.15?

You know it changes hourly and depending on who he is talking to-the anti democratic sly twerp.

King of the North my arse-Andy Capp more like,

@Araminta1003 as I said above, I hold no candle for Burnham.

I suspect he will be a bit better, but whether "good enough" to make up for the disruption - I'm not sure. And I would have preferred more stability of leader from the Tories too.

Why is he an anti-democratic sly twerp?

His position hasn’t changed much in 16 years.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/aug/23/andy-burnham-labour-metropolitan-elite

Pleased to hear that he doesn't change his mind. The quicker he get the welfare bill down and shifts the spend into defense the better. Hopefully he will bring Heely back into the role.

As you seem to have more insight into the Saviour's plans than the Labour MPs is he still standing by the Graduate Tax?

Do you mean Healey? I’d prefer him as Chancellor and Carns in Defence personally.

I actually agree. We would rapidly see welfare come down if he was in the treasury finding the cash for defence.