Burnham's route to Downing Street clears as rival steps aside

Chloe Chaplain, Bloomberg News on Jun 24, 2026

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Andy Burnham is all but certain to become the U.K.’s next prime minister after Darren Jones, who had been talked up as a potential rival, said he would not launch his own leadership bid.

Jones, a minister and ally of outgoing prime minister Keir Starmer, ruled himself out of the race in an interview with Sky News on Wednesday, saying he believed Burnham would become the next prime minister.

Burnham, the former mayor of Manchester, is now increasingly likely to be the only contender nominated to replace Starmer as Labour Party leader and, with no contest, could be installed as prime minister by mid-July.

Starmer announced his resignation on Monday after concluding, over the weekend, that he’d lost the support of Cabinet colleagues and members of Parliament. Fellow international leaders praised Starmer for his work, including in support of Ukraine’s war against Russia, yet on the domestic front his administration had suffered from abysmal poll ratings and a series of embarrassing policy U-turns.

He’ll face Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons early Wednesday afternoon, for the first time since confirming his departure from Downing Street.

Burnham polls well among the public and showed in the recent special election in Makerfield that he can beat Nigel Farage’s populist right-wing party, Reform U.K. There is, however, concern among some factions of the Labour Party over the prospect of Burnham being parachuted into Downing Street untested and without having made commitments around public spending and borrowing.

Former armed forces minister Al Carns — another mooted leadership contender — has pushed Burnham to set out his stall in more detail. It is not clear whether Carns has enough support from MPs to stand as a candidate but he told the BBC on Tuesday night he had not yet ruled out a bid and was waiting to see what policies Burnham would champion.

Jones, meanwhile, said colleagues across the Labour Party were concerned about the prospect of a coronation without any scrutiny of what a Burnham government would do.

He and Burnham had a “reassuring conversation” about the prospective leader’s economic policy plans before making his decision not to stand, Jones said — denying he had done a deal that would see him given a job in cabinet.

But he said there were still many MPs calling for clarity about Burnham’s plans for Downing Street, pointing out there was no confirmation as to who would replace Rachel Reeves as chancellor of the Exchequer.

Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, is one of the names in the running to become Burnham’s chancellor. Jones appeared to caution against this move, declining to offer his support for the appointment when asked.

Setting out what he said were his “tests” for a good chancellor, Jones said they must “not try to control the Prime Minister” and be able to “reassure the markets, reassure the trade unions and reassure the parliamentary Labour Party and by extension the public.”

Jones said there was room “to borrow a little bit more” for specific projects but warned against a “broad brush” approach to borrowing and spending that strays outside the current fiscal rules.

Former health secretary Wes Streeting is also tipped for a cabinet job — possibly leading the Treasury — after dropping his own leadership campaign and falling in behind Burnham.