Some Labour MPs have been calling for a leadership contest amid unease about Andy Burnham being handed the keys to Downing Street without his ideas being testedAndy Burnham is the frontrunner to be the next PM(Image: Tolga Akmen/EPA/Shutterstock)Andy Burnham could face hurdles on his path to No10 as Labour MPs weigh up backing potential challengers.Some MPs have urged Darren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the PM, to throw his hat into the ring amid unease about Mr Burnham becoming Prime Minister without a contest. But the prospect appeared to be fading as a source close to Mr Jones poured cold water on the idea that he was going to stand.Al Carns, the former defence minister, also suggested that he was weighing up whether to have a tilt at the top job. Asked whether he would launch his own leadership bid, he 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.”There are serious doubts over whether either man could command the support of the 81 MPs needed to enter a leadership race. Mr Burnham is believed to have the backing of the majority of Labour MPs and would be a clear frontrunner if a contest was triggered.OPINIONDarren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the PM, was one of the names touted as a possible challenger but his allies played this down(Image: Thomas Krych/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock)If he goes unchallenged, Mr Burnham could become Prime Minister within weeks. Nominations to replace Keir Starmer open on July 9 and close by July 16 – meaning Mr Burnham could be PM the next day if no rival emerges.Several Cabinet Ministers opposed the prospect of a gruelling contest. Starmer loyalist Nick Thomas-Symonds rowed in behind Mr Burnham, and called for “a swift transition” of power.He said: “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.”Emma Reynolds, the Environment Secretary, said: “I don’t want a contest. I’ve lived through many different contests as an MP and as a party member.”I don’t want to do that in government. I don’t think we should spend the summer turning in on ourselves.” She backed Mr Burnham, adding: “Frankly nobody else has got the numbers.”But backbencher Nadia Whittome said his ideas needed to be tested. She said: “The starting point needs to be the issues that are facing the country – the cost of living crisis, the housing crisis, the deep poverty and inequality, the fact that public services have been gutted by a decade and a half of austerity, we’ve got far-right violence on our streets.”And the question for the Labour Party is how we deal with those problems. We can’t answer that question without candidates setting out their stall transparently and being scrutinised by members and by unions.”John Slinger, the Labour MP for Rugby, said a full leadership contest was necessary. “I think the public out there 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,” he said.An MP from a Red Wall seat told the Mirror: “Not convinced re Darren Jones, too much of a long shot right now. But Andy has no room to slip up.”We might all laugh at the idea of a Starmerite challenger now but maybe in a month if the magic is wearing off, who knows.”
