Starmer and Burnham meet for face-to-face talks as PM bows out

Mr Burnham will also start receiving Government briefings to prepare for power after Sir Keir authorised Civil Service access talks to begin for “prospective candidates” for the Labour leadership.

The Prime Minister told his Cabinet he wanted an “orderly transition” and insisted he would try to make the process “as easy as possible” for his successor at a weekly meeting on Tuesday morning.

Downing Street said no “major” new policy decisions or spending pledges would be made in the coming weeks, adding that Sir Keir would agree priorities with Cabinet Secretary Dame Antonia Romeo in the coming days.

But the defence investment plan (Dip), which has been delayed for months amid wrangling within Government over its funding, is one loose end he intends to tie up before leaving office.

His plans to publish the document before the Nato summit on July 7 have the potential to cause friction after The Times reported allies of Mr Burnham believe the decision should fall to the next leader.

An ally of former defence secretary John Healey, who quit over the Dip earlier this month, also warned against publishing a “half-baked” plan before the new prime minister was installed.

“We know this Dip settlement falls well short, and an incoming PM will still have to meet the same requirements. So clearly there is a strong argument against publishing a half-baked Dip now,” they said.

Asked whether Sir Keir was concerned about the work of Government grinding to a halt during the transition process, his official spokesman said the “normal business of Government continues”.

The former Greater Manchester mayor will begin to set out his policy platform, pledging economic growth and a commitment to Labour’s existing fiscal rules in a speech next week.

Many see him as a prime minister-in-waiting following his Makerfield by-election win and his main rival, former health secretary Wes Streeting, backing him to succeed Sir Keir, who announced his resignation on Monday.

The prospect of a potential leadership bid by Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones also appeared to be receding on Tuesday as sources close to the minister said he was highly unlikely to stand.

Mr Jones, a key Starmer ally, is said to want assurances about Mr Burnham’s economic policy amid concerns among some about potential unease in the markets, but allies said he was not minded to run against him.

Elsewhere, former armed forces minister and Royal Marines officer Al Carns told journalists at the Foreign Press Association in London that he had not ruled out standing in a potential contest.

He said Mr Burnham would “listen” to the Parliamentary Labour Party and “he’ll take advice on policy ideas, and hopefully he’ll be able to drive them forward at a pace and with the boldness and courageousness that is required to keep that social cohesion and make us successful in the 2029 general election”.

But he added: “A vision without a plan is a dream and if you don’t have it, it can turn into a nightmare pretty quickly.”

Asked whether he would launch his own leadership bid, Mr Carns said: “A decision is often based on multiple factors. I just need to see and buy into that vision and that policy and then we’ll see where we go from there.”

Burnham backer Nick Thomas-Symonds suggested a contest would not be in the best interests of the country.

The Cabinet Office minister told Sky News: “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.”

The new Makerfield MP, who only returned to the Commons on Monday, could be in Downing Street within weeks if a challenger does not emerge.

Talks are also said to be taking place about who will sit in his Cabinet, with Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood both tipped as potential candidates to replace Rachel Reeves as Chancellor.

But Mr Burnham’s allies said no jobs had been given and no deals had been made as of Monday evening.

The Chancellor’s successor would be bound by the rules she set, which aim to restrict borrowing and pay for day-to-day spending out of tax revenues by the end of the decade.

Mr Burnham knows he has to reassure the City about his economic plans, having previously caused alarm by saying “we’ve got to get beyond this thing of being in hock to the bond markets”.

If he is the only candidate to receive the support needed to stand in the contest for the vacant Labour leadership, he could become prime minister as early as July 17.

Sir Keir said he would ask Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) to set out a timetable that would see a new leader in place by the time Parliament returns from its summer recess on September 1 if there is a contest.

But Mr Burnham could be the only candidate when nominations close on July 16.

Potential candidates have until then to amass the support of at least 81 Labour MPs.