KEIR STARMER HAS held face-to-face talks with his likely successor, Andy Burnham, as he pledged a “smooth transition” of power following his resignation.
The prime minister met the frontrunner to replace him in No 10 for the first time since the former Greater Manchester mayor’s byelection victory for an hour-long “off-site” discussion, as first reported by The Times.
Starmer will face Prime Minister’s Questions for the first time since he announced his resignation.
The Prime Minister’s Commons outing will mark his first public appearance since the emotional statement he made in Downing Street on Monday morning, when he set out a timetable for his exit.
He is likely to face questions about the scope of what his Government can now achieve in his final weeks in office, after Downing Street said no “major” new policy decisions or spending pledges would be made before a new Labour leader is chosen.
Burnham will also start receiving government briefings to prepare for power after Starmer authorised Civil Service access talks to begin for “prospective candidates” for the Labour leadership.
Starmer 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 Starmer would agree priorities in the coming days.
But a contentious defence investment plan, which has been delayed amid wrangling within Government over its funding, is one loose end he intends to tie up before leaving office – having committed weeks ago to finalising it by early July.
His plans to push ahead with publishing the document before the Nato summit on July 7 have the potential to cause friction, with allies of Mr Burnham believe the decision should fall to the next leader.
Meanwhile, the former Greater Manchester mayor will begin to set out his policy platform by pledging economic growth and committing himself to Labour’s existing fiscal rules in a speech next week.
He is widely seen 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.
Burnham, who only returned to the Commons as the new MP for Makerfield 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.
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.
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.
Starmer 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.