Keir Starmer had one Cabinet meeting and one session of Prime Minister’s Questions left. He started the day with farewell talks among his senior ministers in Downing Street, and at noon he was due in the Commons for a final grilling from the despatch box.
His successor is all but chosen. Andy Burnham, the former Greater Manchester mayor who now sits as MP for Makerfield, has the support of 369 of Labour’s 403 MPs. A candidate needs 81 to get on the ballot, so no rival can mathematically enter the race. Nominations formally close on Wednesday, and the contest is set to be a coronation.
Starmer leaves No 10 on Monday. In his last days he has been pointing to what he sees as his legacy: backing for Ukraine, and campaigns at home such as the Hillsborough Law. At a reception for campaigners whose causes he had supported, he told them they had “made me who I am”.
“I’m pleased to have delivered on the promises that I made to many people in this garden, and I’ll make this last promise, which is I will stand with you and walk with you for as long as I’ve got breath in my body,” he said.
On Tuesday he was in Paris for Bastille Day, where Emmanuel Macron gave him the Legion d’honneur. The award recognised his work with France on European security.
Burnham on the cost of living
Burnham spoke to reporters outside the Commons later that day. He called the cost of living “the issue of our times” and said he had heard about it constantly on doorsteps during the campaign.
“If we want to connect politics better with people, well, let’s deal with some of the pressures people are under in terms of the everyday cost of transport, the bills that they’re paying,” he said. “You know, life has changed for people, and it’s not necessarily got better. And I think we just need to be relentlessly focused on that.”
He very nearly swept every declared nomination. The exception was Neil Coyle, the Bermondsey and Old Southwark MP, who backed ex-minister Catherine West instead. West had pulled back in May from an unlikely challenge to Starmer. Coyle said he always nominates a woman, and West is a fellow London MP who had said she wanted a contest.
Who stays in the Cabinet
Burnham has not confirmed any appointments. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is widely expected to lose her job.
Darren Jones, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister and a close ally of Starmer, told LBC he was “definitely” not staying on next week. He said he had been “writing a handover note” and “tidying up loose ends.”
The transition has slowed government business, Jones said. “You can’t bind your successors,” he explained. “So I’ve not been able to make new decisions in the last couple of weeks. I’ve been able to respond to issues, whether it’s national security related or operational issues, but essentially, I’ve been spending my time making sure that’s looked after.”
Sources
- Andy Burnham withdraws from speech as Labour leadership speculation grows
- Starmer faces final Cabinet and PMQs as Burnham edges closer to No 10
