Wes Streeting was arguably going to be Andy Burnham’s number one contender for the Labour leadership but even he has now took a step back. That very much leaves Burnham in pole position by a huge distance at this stage, with nominations to officially open on 9 July.
Streeting’s statement:
While the leadership contest is expected to run through the summer, there is a case where Burnham might be able to sit in office much earlier than that. If there is no other challenger, there is a possibility that Burnham could just walk into the prime minister’s seat shortly after the nominations close on 16 July. (h/t @ Steven Swinford)
With all the momentum riding on Burnham at the moment, I can’t imagine other lawmakers to be willing enough to challenge. As a reminder, any candidate will require 81 MP nominations in order to force a contest through the summer until September.
Otherwise, Burnham will pretty much stroll into No. 10 virtually unopposed.
This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.
