Andy Burnham will make good prime minister, says Keir Starmer

Nominations formally opened on Thursday, with one MP saying that there is 'no one else' who appears a likely challenger

Nominations have opened for the Labour leadership, with Andy Burnham still almost certain to be the only candidate to replace Keir Starmer. Picture: Peter Byrne/PA

Keir Starmer has said Andy Burnham will make a good prime minister as Labour MPs begin formally nominating his successor.

Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, is the only declared candidate for the Labour leadership and appears to be on course for a coronation within two weeks.

As nominations formally opened on Thursday, the prime minister praised his likely successor.

Asked whether Burnham would make a good prime minister, Starmer told reporters: “Yes, I do.

“I have known him a long time, I’ve worked with him when I first came to parliament, in his team directly.”

Starmer said he had worked closely with Burnham on the Investigatory Powers Bill when the latter was shadow home secretary in 2015, adding the legislation was “really important in terms of the powers and capabilities that our security and intelligence services need”.

He also referred to their collaboration since 2024 on Northern Powerhouse Rail, which he said was “an example of devolution at its best”, and Burnham’s response to the attack on the Heaton Park synagogue last year.

Starmer said: “Andy was the first person I phoned to find out what was happening, where things were at.

“When I went to Manchester, I spent the whole time with him, with the community and with others. So, I’ve always worked very well with Andy.”

Asked whether Burnham would be a better prime minister than him, Starmer replied laughing: “These are things best judged by other people.”

Nominations for the Labour leadership remain open until July 16, but Burnham’s last possible rival Al Carns ruled himself out of the running on Wednesday, leaving a clear path for the Makerfield MP.

Burnham said he had nominated himself on social media while a steady trickle of Labour MPs could be seen making their way to the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) offices on Thursday morning to make their nominations.

One MP leaving the PLP offices in Westminster said there is “no one else” who appears a likely challenger.

Several joked about the possibility of voting for Count Binface as the next Labour leader.

The satirical candidate is standing against Nigel Farage in the Clacton by-election triggered by the Reform UK leader.

Barry Gardiner, the Brent West MP, and Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough and Thornaby East) were among the first to make their nominations on Thursday morning, according to those leaving the PLP offices.

Sir Keir Starmer said he had previously worked well with Andy Burnham, both in opposition and in Government (Ian Vogler/Daily Mirror/PA)

Prospective candidates need the backing of 81 MPs, which can include themselves, to get onto the ballot to replace Starmer, who resigned last month under increasing pressure from his party.

If Burnham reaches the “magic number” of more than 321 nominations, then it will no longer be possible for another challenger to get the backing of 81 MPs as there are 403 Labour MPs and the party leader by convention does not take part.

In the absence of any other candidates, Burnham will be formally declared Labour leader at a special conference on July 17 and is expected to then become prime minister on July 20.

The Makerfield MP will still take part in an online hustings with Labour MPs on Monday evening, even if he is the only one in the running.

Writing in The Times on the eve of nominations opening, Burnham said he would seek stability in his foreign policy as prime minister as he set out his commitment to Nato, the nuclear deterrent, maintaining close ties with the US and support for Ukraine as well as continuing to bolster relations with the EU.

Starmer's national security adviser Jonathan Powell will be kept on in the role, he said.

The boost to defence spending set out in Starmer's defence investment plan should be used to back British businesses and economic growth with a focus on inward investment, he said.

He also said he was committed to “levelling with” the public over spending decisions.

He added: “I want to be more open with the public about how and where defence funding is spent.”

Former transport secretary Louise Haigh, a key Burnham ally, said he has “very clear ideas and a plan”.

Amid speculation about who he would choose for his cabinet, she said he had not had to do “horse trades and deals with all kinds of people” to get to where he is.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Political Thinking programme: “Therefore he can set out the agenda, including the machinery of government changes, which he started to announce this week with Number 10 North, and then build out the people from that.

“And that’s the right way to do it.”