Former Health Secretary and previously rumored Labour Party leadership contender Wes Streeting has backed incoming Member of Parliament for Makerfield Andy Burnham for Labour leader, all but guaranteeing that Burnham will become Prime Minister.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Newly elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Makerfield Andy Burnham has secured the backing of former Health Secretary and rumored Labour leadership rival Wes Streeting to replace Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, meaning Burnham is all but certain to assume the premiership in a matter of weeks. 📺 DETAIL: Streeting, once considered a potential contender for the Labour leadership, has thrown his support behind Burnham, urging his party to unite rather than focus on internal divisions. Streeting resigned as Health Secretary amid a wave of ministerial resignations and calls from Labour Party backbenchers for Starmer to resign last month. In his resignation letter, Streeting accused Starmer of a lack of vision following disastrous results for the Labour Party in May’s local elections, which saw Nigel Farage’s Reform UK make historic gains. “[May]’s election results were unprecedented – both in terms of the scale of the defeat and the consequences of that failure. For the first time in our country’s history, nationalists are in power in every corner of the United Kingdom – including a dangerous English nationalism represented by Nigel Farage and Reform UK… It is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election and that Labour MPs and Labour Unions want the debate about what comes next to be a battle of ideas, not of personalities or petty factionalism. It needs to be broad, and it needs the best possible field of candidates. I support that approach and I hope that you will facilitate this,” wrote Streeting. On Monday, in another letter posted on X (formerly Twitter), the former Health Secretary declared that he felt confident that ideas of “progressive capitalism,” a “Fourth Industrial Revolution,” and “a new special relationship with Europe,” among other ideas, would be taken seriously under a Burnham-led government. “Having spoken at length with Andy in recent days, I’m convinced that there is a place for those ideas under his leadership; that he is committed to building an inclusive party that draws on the best of our political traditions; and that he can win the fight of our lives against the forces of nationalism.” 💬 KEY QUOTE: “We could spend the summer exaggerating small differences, or we can roll up our sleeves and help him to deliver the change our party and our country needs. That is the choice that I am making and I hope that everyone else will back Andy too.” – Wes Streeting, former Health Secretary 🎯 IMPACT: Streeting’s endorsement paves the way for Burnham to be coronated as Labour Party leader uncontested and be installed as Prime Minister by September. The official nominations process for the Labour leadership contest is scheduled to begin on July 9. Prior to Streeting’s endorsement, Burnham was already the frontrunner by a wide margin. As such, even if Streeting did make a leadership bid, it is unlikely that he would have won, but the process of installing Burnham would have been stalled. 📺 FLASHBACK: Streeting’s endorsement follows the resignation of Sir Keir Starmer. The outgoing Prime Minister confirmed that he will remain in his position until a new leader is chosen. This follows the return of Andy Burnham, who had been serving as Mayor of Greater Manchester, to Parliament following a by-election (special election) in Makerfield, England. The former MP for the constituency (electoral district) resigned the seat following Labour’s local election losses to Reform in May specifically in order to allow Burnham to return to the House of Commons and supplant Starmer. |
— Wes Streeting (@wesstreeting) June 22, 2026
Image by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street.
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