Good morning. Nothing is inevitable in life, but it is now all-but-certain that Andy Burnham will become the next Labour leader. There are still more than two weeks before the nominations for the leadership open on Thursday 9 July but – unless the Mail on Sunday can somehow unearth some surprise scandal about how Burnham has fathered a secret lovechild while also taking bribes from Israeli defence companies or whatever (which they won’t) – Burnham has in effect already won. He is the clear choice for Labour party members, and yesterday Labour MPs showed that they overwhelmingly back him too.
There is no realistic prospect of any alternative candidate beating Burnham in a leadership election. And there almost no realistic prospect of any person who does launch a leadership bid getting the support of 81 MPs, and the nominations from 5% of constituency Labour parties, or at least three affiliate organisations (of which two have to be unions), that they would need to be a candidate.
But that has not stopped chatter about some sort of challenge. It is possible to imagine some sort of shadow contest happening over the next fortnight, involving candidates declaring an interest, giving speeches, setting out a platform and perhaps attending hustings (before probably pulling out by 9 July when they don’t have enough support). This morning, the BBC is reporting that Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the PM, and Al Carns, the former armed forces minister, have not ruled out a bid.
Other figures in the party are trying to discourage this sort of challenge. Nick Thomas-Symonds, the minister for EU relations, has been giving interviews this morning. He was a Keir Starmer loyalist, but today he said that he wanted to see Burnham become leader and that he wanted to see “a swift transition”.
He told Sky News:
I’m backing Andy Burnham and, yes, looking for a swift transition.
Asked if that meant he did not want a contest, he said:
I just think we have to weigh up what is in the best interests of the country. I am of the view that it needs to be a swift transition, but of course I understand colleagues have difficult decisions to make.
And Margaret Hodge, the former minister and Labour peer, told the Today programme that, while she could see the case for an election, “on balance” she thought it would be better not to have one. “We’ve got to get on with delivering, we’re in government,” she told the programme.
Here is the agenda for the day.
Morning: Keir Starmer chairs cabinet.
9am: Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, launches a poster campaign at an event to mark the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum vote.
9.30am: Peter Murrell, the former SNP chief executive, and Nicola Sturgeon’s estranged husband, is sentenced at Edinburgh high court for embezzling more than £400,000 from the party.
10am: Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, publishes an article defending Brexit on his Substack account.
10am: Sir Martyn Oliver, the head of Ofsted, gives evidence to the Commons education committee.
11am: More in Common publishes MRP polling on views on rejoining the EU.
Noon: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
2pm: Kemi Badenoch speaks at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference in London.
2.30pm: Lord Hermer, the attorney general, gives evidence to the Commons justice committee.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: theguardian.com
