Senior UK minister rules out leadership challenge as Burnham edges closer to Downing Street

Published on 24/06/2026 - 15:25 GMT+2•Updated

15:27

A senior Labour cabinet minister has ruled out making a bid for party leader as returning MP Andy Burnham took another big step towards becoming Britain's next PM.

Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the PM and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said on Wednesday that he would not mount a leadership challenge.

"Andy Burnham is going to be the next prime minister," Jones told Sky News. "If there was a contest with Labour Party ministers, he would win".

"The question for me is, what would the benefit be to the country and to the party of a leadership contest," he added.

Jones, a staunch ally of outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer, had reportedly been urged by some Labour MPs to run against Burnham, with some noting concerns over the latter's economic policy.

His decision to step aside removes a major obstacle between Burnham and the UK's top job and could mean he is in Downing Street as early as July.

Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who previously said he would run in any leadership contest, had already pulled out and announced his backing for Burnham, leaving only former minister for the armed forces Al Carns as a potential challenger for now.

On Monday, Carns, a former marine who served in the military for 24 years before entering politics, said he had not yet made a decision on the matter, but he added that the UK needed a "national conversation" on "what this country wants to be at the next general election".

Any challenger would need support from 81 MPs in order to stand in a contest.

Starmer announced his resignation on Monday following weeks of mounting pressure in the wake of Labour's disastrous May local election results.

Burnham, who previously served as the MP for Leigh from 2001 to 2017, made his return to Westminster on the same day.

The former Manchester mayor scored a huge victory in the Makerfield by-election last week, winning around 55% of the vote and beating out candidates from both Reform UK and Restore Britain.