UK Labour MPs mull challenge to PM frontrunner Burnham

LONDON:

Two Labour lawmakers were on Tuesday considering whether to challenge Andy Burnham to become Britain's next prime minister, with some concern in the party about a so-called coronation.

Burnham, 56, is the overwhelming frontrunner to succeed outgoing leader Keir Starmer, who announced on Monday he was stepping down after losing the support of his own MPs.

Burnham only became eligible for the top job after winning a parliamentary by-election last week but could be in 10 Downing Street by July 17 if he is unchallenged.

Former armed forces minister Al Carns told an event Tuesday that he wanted to hear Burnham's "vision" for the country before deciding whether or not 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 Jones 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".

Government minister Nick Thomas-Symonds echoed the views of many Labour lawmakers on 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 contest would add legitimacy to his premiership since he would have become prime minister without winning a general election.

The Labour party won a landslide victory in July 2024 general elections and is the biggest party in parliament, thus its leader automatically has the right to be prime minister.

Labour MP John Slinger, a Starmer loyalist, 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 No. 10 looks clear after his nearest rival for the top job, Wes Streeting, announced on Monday he would not challenge the ex-Manchester mayor for the top job.

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.