Senior minister and Starmer ally Darren Jones has ruled himself out of taking on Andy Burnham for the Labour leadership.
Mr Jones, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, told Sky News this morning that he had been “reassured” about the former Greater Manchester mayor’s economic plans following a conversation on Tuesday.
Asked whether he would stand himself, Mr Jones said: “I’m not. And, look, I’m flattered by the support from colleagues, whether MPs or other important stakeholders in the party, but, look, it’s not something that I’m going to do.”
Mr Burnham, who was sworn in as Makerfield MP on Monday having won the by-election last week, is the favourite to succeed Sir Keir Starmer as Labour leader and prime minister.
However, former defence minister Al Carns, who resigned earlier this month in a row over defence spending, remains a possible contender, telling the BBC on Tuesday he was “pretty serious” about launching a bid but wanted to see what policies the party’s newest MP would champion.
