Andy Burnham could become prime minister next month

Christopher McKeon and David Lynch, Press Association Political Staff

Andy Burnham could become prime minister as soon as July 20 if he remains the only candidate to succeed Sir Keir Starmer.

If no other candidates step forward, the former Greater Manchester mayor is expected to be formally declared Labour leader at a special conference on July 17, the day after nominations for the position close.

But it is understood he would not become prime minister immediately, with the formal handover taking place on the next working day, July 20, in line with the party’s previous practice.

Leadership hopefuls need to secure the support of 81 Labour MPs and three of Labour’s affiliated organisations by July 16 to get onto the ballot.

Mr Burnham is currently the only declared candidate for the party leadership, backed by several Cabinet ministers as well as backbench MPs.

Wes Streeting, seen as his main potential rival, ruled himself out of the contest shortly after Sir Keir announced his resignation on Monday.

Former armed forces minister Al Carns remains a possible challenger and has yet to rule himself out of the race, though it remains unclear whether he could amass the 81 names needed to get onto the ballot.

On Friday, Mr Burnham headed to Radcliffe Football Club in Greater Manchester for the launch of Bev Craig’s campaign to succeed him as the region’s mayor.

If he does become prime minister on July 20, the mayoral by-election scheduled for 10 days later will provide an early test of his popularity.

Friday also saw Mr Burnham announce that he would donate 15% of his MP’s salary to causes in his Makerfield constituency, beginning with the social club that provided the headquarters for his by-election campaign.

As mayor of Greater Manchester, he donated 15% of his salary to homelessness charities.

Meanwhile, Mr Burnham continues to mull his cabinet picks should he become prime minister.

Rachel Reeves appears to have conceded she will no longer be staying on as Chancellor, with several senior ministers including Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband reportedly in the running to succeed her.

An unlikely alliance of some trade unionists and city traders have reportedly urged Mr Burnham against appointing Mr Miliband as chancellor, because they believe his net zero policies to be damaging.

But transport union the TSSA has thrown its weight behind Mr Miliband.

TSSA general secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said: “The Labour movement needs an experienced hand as chancellor who is responsive to the needs of working people and who represents a clear break from the status quo.

“The next chancellor must be serious about growing the economy by investing properly in the infrastructure Britain needs to unlock sustainable growth.

“That growth must have tangible benefits for working people through better wages, secure jobs and rising living standards.

“We believe Ed Miliband has demonstrated that he understands the need for a different approach, one that is prepared to invest for the long term and deliver an economy that works for everyone.

“We think Ed Miliband should be the next occupant of Number 11.”

Spat

The Labour mayoral campaign was launched as the Prime Minister is faced with the prospect of an internal Home Office spat.

Ms Mahmood has asked Sir Keir to sack migration minister Mike Tapp after he wrote an article which appeared to break with Government policy on migration.

She has also banned him from access to sensitive documents and meetings without her approval, after he claimed he could share “receipts” which proved he came up with ideas to dampen strict new migration plans.