Lindsay Hoyle’s voice boomed across the chamber: ‘We now come to Andy Burnham, member for Makerfield.’ The newly elected MP was sworn in just hours after the prime minister who called the election had tearfully announced his own resignation. Sir Keir Starmer, fighting back tears in an emotional Downing Street speech, said he would quit No 10 after months of pressure from Labour MPs, dropping his vow to fight any leadership challenge. He paid tribute to his wife and children, describing them as his ‘pride and joy’, and said that after leaving ‘the biggest job in the country’ he would focus on ‘the most important job’ of being the best husband and father he can be. He then embraced his wife before returning inside No 10.
Burham’s path to the top job was sealed over a secret weekend. The i Paper reported that Burnham held talks with his main rival, Wes Streeting, who then dramatically announced he would back the new Makerfield MP instead of running for leader himself. ‘It’s over, Andy Burnham has won,’ an MP told The i Paper. The opposition to Burnham’s leadership bid had ‘dramatically melted away’, according to the newspaper. Starmer had announced on Monday that he would step down two years after his historic election victory, saying a new leader would be in place before parliament returns in September. Tom Baldwin, Starmer’s biographer, wrote that the PM was being told he must quit to prevent more uncertainty and chaos ‘by those who have caused much of it’ but then stay on because the man desperate for his job was not yet ready. Baldwin noted that Starmer had a mandate from Labour members and stood on a manifesto that won a mandate from the British people, adding: ‘Modern politics: consumerisation.’
“Andy Burnham is set to become PM after Wes Streeting dropped his leadership bid following secret weekend talks.”
Now Burnham, who took a selfie with colleagues from the Parliamentary Labour Party in Westminster Hall, is on course for a coronation as prime minister. The question left hanging is how quickly the transition can happen and whether the party can avoid the very chaos that Starmer’s resignation was meant to end.