Burnham's last potential rival Al Carns rules out leadership bid

Former Defence Minister Al Carns has ruled out a bid for the Labour leadership, declaring he will not stand and urging the party to get behind Andy Burnham. Speaking to Sky News, Carns described a leadership contest as "not the champion usage of Labour's time" and said, in his view, "we request to get connected board" with Burnham. His decision leaves Burnham as the only Labour MP to have declared his intention to run for the leadership following Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation as prime minister last month. Earlier in the week Carns had said he could not support Burnham until he had seen more detail about the latter’s programme for government. After speaking with Burnham on Tuesday, however, Carns concluded the Makerfield MP would "make the close decisions and determination the state forward". Burnham is widely expected to become the next Labour leader and prime minister this month. The nomination process for candidates begins on Thursday, when the window for MPs to submit nominations opens. To be eligible, a candidate must secure nominations from 20 % of the party’s MPs – 81 out of 403 – and also be nominated by at least three of the 31 affiliated socialist societies and trade unions, or by 5 % of constituency Labour parties. If Burnham obtains 323 nominations, it would be mathematically impossible for any other contender to enter the race. In that scenario he could be confirmed as Labour leader by 17 July and assume the premiership three days later on 20 July, allowing time for the transfer of power. Burnham said he would face the Labour party after winning a by‑election in Makerfield and returning to Westminster last month. Sir Keir resigned as prime minister on the same day Burnham was sworn in as an MP, stating in his resignation speech that he had heard the answer to the question of whether "I americium champion placed to pb america into the adjacent wide election". Wes Streeting, the former health secretary, had contemplated a bid to succeed Sir Keir as Labour leader but opted to back Burnham shortly after the resignation. Carns had also been weighing his own prospects for the leadership. He resigned as defence minister over a dispute concerning the level of defence spending. When asked by Sky News presenter Cathy Newman whether he would put himself forward, Carns replied that "internal humor letting" was not in the party’s best interests. He added, "So, my presumption would beryllium we request to get connected board," and praised Burnham’s record: "Andy's done a bully occupation with Manchester, he's done a large occupation during Covid, he's seen the Manchester Arena onslaught and dealt with that precise effectively, and the economical trajectory of Manchester's successful a affirmative way." Carns concluded, "If we tin bash that astatine the local, the determination level, and the nationalist level, I deliberation that's hitting the close place." Read the full story at BBC News →