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

That article is 16 years old. There was very little point in kissing his arse back then.

Maybe we should have a 1 and 2 then, who the public know will not change, and if something happens to 1 they know 2 will step in. I actually thought the Deputy PM was the automatic default but it seems to be that the Labour party don't want Lammy either...so why were they put there in the first place? Does the party not wanting him mean he is just as "bad" as Starmer? And how come they have all jumped onto Burnham after so many decades of him being the silent fart in the room? Not saying I want Lammy at all - his ties to the Trump administration have me suspicious - but you would think for continuity it would be the person who has been deputy would be next to take the hot-seat as they have schmoozed all of the other world leaders and committed to the same policies and agreements with them.

I don't think Labour have considered the longer term here and seem to just want a shiny new object. As soon as Trump calls him a fake they'll probably hate him and the tide will turn again.

I think being called a fake by Trump would be considered a compliment.

Me too but not joining in with Trump and Israel's war was when this all seemed to kick off...

I think the deputy though is never meant to be proper PM, I don't think Raab would have been, he was just put in place when Boris was in hospital so Lammy is probably just for emergencies like that.

You're a delight in these dark days @BIossomtoes when it is so lovely to think that such wide eyed innocence exists.

I have seen you display it many times and it's wonderful! 💐

The deputy steps in when the PM is ill (Raab when Johnson had Covid, say)

When John Smith died, Margaret Beckett was leader pro tem before Blair.

I understand, I just think the public should know who will take power if the party outs their own leader. It should be up to the public not the party.

We have representative government, that’s how it works.

There is a paradox here.
Tories and Labour have played children’s party musical chairs now which will push even more people Reform way.
However, at the same time if the former two parties have established a precedent for musical chairs (which let’s face it, really is the case now), it should put any vaguely sane person off Reform - because there people really are voting for a few characters and imagine if any of the real duds that party abounds in, were to get in if they were to come into power.
Except I suppose Nigel would promise no musical chairs in a manifesto. One would hope so.

What I find most offensive is some commentators saying that Britain has become ungovernable. How utterly disrespectful to the public and most of us going about our daily business working hard and respecting law and order. The division to me seems to be between the “leaders” and those they supposedly serve. It’s like they are out of touch and not sensitive to our needs and following false data scientifically presented as fact some like poll data. Social media is the pits of venting and abomination- I wonder what Freud would have said about it. It’s the super unconscious made conscious but not meant to be overstudied by politicians.
whoever leads or doesn’t lead- stop treating the general public like naughty erroneous children and treat us with respect and dignity valuing what each and everyone of us brings to the table.

Cabinet minister Darren Jones and former armed forces minister Al Carns were being considered as potential candidates by some Labour MPs who want to avoid installing Burnham in No 10 without a contest.

However, Jones confirmed on Wednesday that he would not be running. He told Sky News: "Andy Burnham is going to be the next prime minister and if there was a contest of Labour Party members, he would win."

Former Royal Marines officer Carns told BBC Newsnight he was still considering standing in a potential contest but was waiting to see what policies Burnham was planning to "push forward".

"We need to see that material before I can make a decision to back him," he added.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyl91qlyr1o

The BBC understands that if Andy Burnham becomes prime minister then he is expected to replace Rachel Reeves as chancellor and offer her a more junior cabinet position.

A spokesperson for Burnham said no decisions had been made.

It comes as the former Greater Manchester mayor begins to assemble a Downing Street team, assuming he wins the Labour leadership race in which, currently, he is the sole candidate.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyl91qlyr1o

According to the Financial Times, Mr Burnham will demote Rachel Reeves from her role of Chancellor.

Sources close to Ms Reeves insisted the Financial Times story was not true, saying they had nothing further to add.

(sources close to Mr Burnham probably thinking "awkward!")

I think it’s a warning that there will be a bond crisis if he puts anyone in who is further left than Reeves. The markets want a blue Labour as chancellor like Streeting. God help us all if Burnham gets the Chancellor wrong.

I don't think he'll lose any to the LibDems. They have long advocated increased defence spending and welfare reform.

I think Starmer failed because he put weak people in - like Lammy, Reeves, Rayner. He was probably advised to not put a full package in (by that I mean fully competent plus large personality) in case it undermines him. Yet, that eventually became his downfall.
If Burnham has any sense he will put all the strongest people into the key cabinet positions including some of the military figures they do have and not change too much but keep a financially steady ship. At this point, it is not even about soft or blue or what gave you - it is all about competence and strength and engendering confidence back into the system. Hopefully he has that much sense!

I think he failed because of his own failings mostly but agree that Burnham’s choice of chancellor is key.

@EasternStandard - do not agree. There was nothing major Starmer “failed” at other than the Mandelson appointment and having an incompetent chancellor, a deputy who had to resign etc etc. It is OK to be managerial if you manage a really strong team and manage it properly. Starmer did really well internationally. Mahmood is doing really well and Streeting was fine for a while. Had he filled his cabinet with people just off that ilk to steady the ship at home he would have been fine. There was no major major scandal like Partygate or the massive Truss bond crisis. That is exactly why some people are peeved that Burnham is usurping from the back - but if Burnham is doing that, he may as well not repeat any of Starmer’s obvious mistakes!

Buses are the solution to all of the UK’s problems. I have often wondered what makes a country prosperous. I thought about it, and then it dawned on me: all prosperous countries have capitals with buses. The correlation is indisputable.

We need a renewed national bus strategy, and Andy is the man to deliver it. The rest will follow.

Ik some are annoyed about Burnham and that won’t change. Others look at Starmer differently to your post, and in the end more felt similarly to get rid of him.

You never know Burnham might turn it around, not sure if unhappy Starmer supporters would be happier that Burnham is PM then.

Buses and potholes are always important too to most normal people.

However, I really think the main motto needs to be to make Britain Safe Again.

And Safe means different things to different people - it can be the Russians, the Chinese, the US social media negative influences, the threat of an incompetent Reform Government for some, the cost of living, the failing NHS etc, the energy prices, the power of the bond markets etc
When people do not feel confident and safe, there is no investment and growth and people feel disgruntled and anxious,

And of course, for many they have been persuaded they aren’t “safe” because ot the boats or the two tier policing.

But at the end of the day, it really all boils down to people feeling safe, however you look at it. And the negative spiral and media frenzy since before Brexit has led to a doom loop. It is like being trapped in a horror movie on a bad weed trip.

I agree that would be a good motto. Like you say, safe means different things to different people but there are too many things that don’t seem “safe” for us or our children in Britain at the moment.

The only downside would be the extreme negativity from the media every time something happened that wasn’t safe - a terrorist incident say. They would use the motto as a device to mock the Labour Party. As they did with the “family values” of the Conservative party every time one of their party was caught up in a scandal.

We have discussed personalities and it is a big factor but this situation is troubling. We already have a head of state who the public are unable to chose. To have a PM completely imposed feels like a waste of time pretending we have any real democracy - I know a constitutional monarchy - unless you believe in the divine right of party leaders?

@Bullandbear - will there be a B-slogan on your buses and will they be air conditioned?