Senior minister and Starmer ally Darren Jones has ruled himself out of taking on Andy Burnham<\/a> for the Labour leadership.<\/p>\n Mr Jones, chancellor<\/a> of the Duchy of Lancaster, told Sky News this morning that he had been \u201creassured\u201d about the former Greater Manchester<\/a> mayor<\/a>\u2019s economic plans following a conversation on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Asked whether he would stand himself, Mr Jones said: \u201cI\u2019m not. And, look, I\u2019m flattered by the support from colleagues, whether MPs or other important stakeholders in the party, but, look, it\u2019s not something that I\u2019m going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Burnham, who was sworn in as Makerfield MP on Monday<\/a> having won the by-election last week, is the favourite to succeed Sir Keir Starmer as Labour leader and prime minister.<\/p>\n However, former defence minister Al Carns<\/a>, who resigned earlier this month in a row over defence spending, remains a possible contender<\/a>, telling the BBC on Tuesday he was \u201cpretty serious\u201d about launching a bid but wanted to see what policies the party\u2019s newest MP would champion.<\/p>\n <\/a>Burnham gives backing to Labour’s GM mayor candidate<\/p>\n Bev Craig has been the leader of Manchester city council since December 2021 and a member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, which was led by Andy Burnham.<\/p>\n Dan Haygarth24 June 2026 08:41<\/p>\n <\/a>Exclusive: David Lammy asks Amber Rudd to carry out review of prisons<\/p>\n Deputy prime minister David Lammy<\/a> is to unveil respected former Tory cabinet minister Amber Rudd <\/a>to review the prison system.<\/p>\n With Labour<\/a> still trying to tackle an overcrowding crisis in prisons in England and Wales despite a controversial early release scheme, Mr Lammy, who is also the justice secretary, has turned to the former Tory home secretary to find solutions<\/a>.<\/p>\n A source told The Independent that the review will look at how the prison system<\/a> can keep the public safe but also modernise prisons to deal with new threats such as drone deliveries<\/a> \u201cwhich have become very sophisticated\u201d.<\/p>\n Ms Rudd will also be asked to explore how to cut crime through training and making ex-offenders better connected to modern employment.<\/p>\n David Maddox24 June 2026 08:20<\/p>\n <\/a>Former cabinet minister reportedly being sized up to be Burnham’s chief of staff<\/p>\n Talks are continuing about who might serve in an Andy Burnham cabinet, and who might advise the former Greater Manchester mayor behind the scenes.<\/p>\n Senior Labour figures \u2013 including former transport secretary Louise Haigh, energy secretary Ed Miliband, home secretary Shabana Mahmood, and former health secretary Wes Streeting \u2013 have all been tipped for top jobs in a government led by Mr Burnham.<\/p>\n James Purnell, a former Labour cabinet minister who served alongside Mr Burnham in the Blair government, is meanwhile reportedly being sized up as a chief of staff, The Times reported.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, crossbench peer Jim O\u2019Neill \u2013 who has been advising Mr Burnham \u2013 told The Guardian he wanted to see a new, independent body set up so that extra money could be spent on infrastructure while remaining within Labour\u2019s fiscal rules.<\/p>\n The body could follow the model of the Office for Budget Responsibility, he said, allowing for billions more to be spent on boosting big transport and public works projects.<\/p>\n Dan Haygarth24 June 2026 08:16<\/p>\n <\/a>Starmer and Burnham hold talks as prime minister promises \u2018smooth transition\u2019 of power after resignation<\/p>\n Sir Keir Starmer<\/a> has held face-to-face talks with Andy Burnham<\/a>, his likely successor, pledging a “smooth transition” of power following his resignation.<\/p>\n The prime minister<\/a> met the frontrunner to replace him in Downing Street for an hour-long “off-site” discussion, the first since the former Greater Manchester mayor\u2019s by-election victory, as reported by The Times.<\/p>\n To prepare for power, Mr Burnham will now begin receiving government briefings, with Sir Keir having authorised civil service access talks for “prospective candidates” for the Labour<\/a> leadership.<\/p>\n The PM also told his cabinet on Tuesday morning that he sought an “orderly transition”, aiming to make the process “as easy as possible” for his successor.<\/p>\n Read the full story below:<\/p>\n Dan Haygarth24 June 2026 08:10<\/p>\n <\/a>Senior minister and Starmer ally rules himself out of Labour leadership race Senior minister Darren Jones has urged Andy Burnham to set out more of his economic policies after ruling himself out of the race for the Labour leadership.<\/p>\n In an interview with Sky News on Wednesday morning, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Mr Jones said he would have had the backing of enough MPs to take on the former Greater Manchester mayor, but suggested a contest would not give the eventual winner enough time to prepare a budget for the autumn.<\/p>\n Mr Jones said he had had a \u201creassuring\u201d conversation with Mr Burnham about the Makerfield MP\u2019s economic policy before making his decision.<\/p>\n He said Mr Burnham should set out more details for the \u201cupwards of 100 MPs\u201d who were concerned about his plans or were \u201cfeeling pretty depressed\u201d by Sir Keir Starmer\u2019s resignation.<\/p>\n Asked about the possibility of Mr Burnham increasing borrowing to fund his spending priorities, Mr Jones said there was \u201croom to borrow a little bit more\u201d within the existing fiscal rules.<\/p>\n But he stressed that there were other routes to achieve the former mayor\u2019s objectives \u201cwithout broad brush borrowing and spending\u201d.<\/p>\n Dan Haygarth24 June 2026 08:00<\/p>\n <\/a>‘I was really sad to see Starmer resign’, minister says<\/p>\n A Labour minister has said she was “really sad to see Keir Starmer resign”, insisting that there has been “incredible progress” under his Labour government.<\/p>\n Speaking to Sky News, victims minister Catherine Atkinson added: “We have delivered so much of our manifesto, and the decisions that [Sir Keir] has taken with Rachel Reeves as chancellor has meant that we have seen – we saw inflation coming down, we saw six interest rate cuts.<\/p>\n “That certainty allowed hundreds of billions of pounds of investment into our country, and it meant that we were able to do the investment we need in public services, and bringing our NHS waiting list down.”<\/p>\n Asked whether she would have liked to see Sir Keir continue in post, she said: “My concern had been that we don’t want to, when we were getting into our stride on delivery, to trip ourselves up.<\/p>\n “But I’m really pleased that he has continued to put the country first in ensuring that we do have that smooth transition, and absolutely going forward, the hope that we have seen Andy Burnham be able to create and instil in people is the kind of hope over division that I do want to see in leadership going before a general election.”<\/p>\n Millie Cooke24 June 2026 07:57<\/p>\n![\"James](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/96866836...jpeg\")
James Purnell, former Labour MP for Stalybridge and Hyde, pictured in 2010 (Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Darren](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/be4304bcb04a362fa268255789bb893fY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzgyMzY3MTc1-2.84437727.jpg\")
Darren Jones said he would not contest the Labour leadership election after a \u2018reassuring\u2019 conversation on economic policy with Andy Burnham. (Jordan Pettitt\/PA) (PA Wire)<\/p>\n![\"Sir](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/02692918ea85b7cfe63e301d270fa575Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzgyMzM5ODgy-2.76796594.jpg\")
Sir Keir Starmer with Andy Burnham, the man likely to succeed him (file picture) (PA Archive)<\/p>\n