Starmer Pledges Smooth Handover as Labour Leadership Race Takes Shape
Outgoing UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday pledged to make the transition of power “as easy as possible,” as two Labour lawmakers considered whether to challenge frontrunner Andy Burnham amid growing concern within the party about a coronation-style succession.
Starmer, who announced Monday he would step down after losing the confidence of his own MPs, has authorized so-called access talks with prospective successors to begin “as soon as possible,” Downing Street said. The prime minister, in office for nearly two years, told his senior ministerial team during their weekly meeting that he wanted an “orderly” handover and for whoever replaces him “to succeed.”
“The prime minister said he would seek to make the transition as easy as possible, giving his full support to whoever followed in his footsteps,” a government readout of the meeting noted.
Labour veteran Burnham, 56, is the overwhelming favorite to replace Starmer, despite only becoming eligible for the top job after winning a parliamentary by-election last Thursday. The former Manchester mayor was greeted with applause and cheers as some 200 Labour MPs welcomed him back to parliament for his swearing-in on Monday, hours after Starmer tendered his resignation.
Starmer’s official spokesman told reporters that meetings between Burnham’s team and senior civil servants could begin before nominations to become Labour leader open on July 9. Nominations close on July 16, and Burnham could be in 10 Downing Street by the following day if he runs unchallenged.
The contest comes at a delicate moment for the UK, with the Labour Party still basking in its landslide victory at the July 2024 general election. The party’s dominance in parliament means its leader automatically becomes prime minister, but some MPs argue that a contested race would lend greater legitimacy to the next premier, who would otherwise take office without having won a general election themselves.
Former armed forces minister Al Carns told an event Tuesday that he wanted to hear Burnham’s “vision” for the country before deciding whether to stand. “We’ll see where we go from there,” he added.
UK media reported that government minister Darren Jones was being encouraged to run by some MPs. A person close to Jones told AFP that he was keeping his options open until Burnham lays out more detailed plans for government, particularly on the economy, but that he considered a run “very unlikely.” Burnham is due to begin setting out his policy platform next week with a speech on his economic plans.
Government minister Nick Thomas-Symonds echoed the views of many Labour lawmakers Tuesday when he told Sky News that a “swift transition” was in “the best interests of the country.” A contest would last for several weeks and could be bitterly divisive, but some MPs insist forcing Burnham to win a race would add credibility to his premiership.
Labour MP John Slinger told BBC radio that the public would think “we’d slightly lost our minds if we didn’t go through a process where we subject people who aspire to the highest office in the land to completely normal scrutiny.” Fellow backbencher Nadia Whittome also called for a contest, telling the BBC that “candidates setting out their stall transparently” would make Labour and the government “stronger.”
Burnham’s path to Number 10 looks clear after his nearest rival for the top job, Wes Streeting, announced Monday he would not compete. Any challenger would likely find it difficult to secure the support of the 81 of Labour’s 403 MPs needed to join a race. “Andy has such a head of steam it would be quixotic,” one Labour MP, who asked not to be named, told AFP, adding that a contest would be “hugely expensive and time-consuming.” “We need unity now,” he said.