It worked. It won Labour a landslide and carried Mr Starmer into Downing Street with a 174 seat majority, an extraordinary turnaround after Boris Johnson’s Tory tsunami had swept into corners of the country like the Tees Valley and Durham that the Conservatives had never previously reached and inflicted a historically humiliating defeat on Labour.

Labour leader Keir Starmer holds his party’s 2024 manifesto (Image: PA)

Yet less than two years later, it is all change again. Andy Burnham now looks set to become Britain’s seventh prime minister in 10 years as the country, once a bastion of stability in an ever-changing world, looks increasingly unstable.

Six Prime Ministers resigning in 10 years: Lord David Cameron, Theresa May (Baroness May of Maidenhead), and Boris Johnson, and (bottom row, left to right) Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir StarmerPA Photo. Photo credit should read: Stefan Rousseau/Aaron Chown/Andrew Matthews/James Manning/Kirsty O’Connor/PA Wire (Image: Stefan Rousseau/Aaron Chown/Andrew Matthews/James Manning/Kirsty O’Connor/PA Wire)

Mr Burnham will probably change the Secretary of State for Health for the 10th time in those 10 years – is it any wonder that our NHS is floundering with so many changes of direction?

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer arrives on board his election battle bus at a campaign event in Halesowen after unveiling Labour’s manifesto in Manchester for the forthcoming General Election on July 4. Picture date: Thursday June 13, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story POLITICS Election Labour. Photo credit should read: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire (Image: Stefan Rousseau)

For Mr Starmer the seeds of his downfall were sown in that landslide: he received just 33.7 per cent of the popular vote, the lowest winning share ever. There was no love for him or his party – but there was hatred for the clowning Tories.

Mr Starmer appears to have decided that the change the country really needed was a change in competence: he would govern in a sensible lawyerly fashion without the silly psychodramas of Johnson and Truss.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – JUNE 13: Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer speaks during the launch of Labour’s general election manifesto on June 13, 2024 in Manchester, United Kingdom. Labour is consistently leading the polls by over 20 points, according to the latest YouGov data. (Photo by Anthony Devlin/Getty Images) (Image: Anthony Devlin)

There was no soaring vision about making Britain great again, just drab stuff about the mess the country was in and how there was a £22bn black hole so things could only get worse. Then pensioners became the first to bear the brunt when their winter fuel allowance was painfully withdrawn – an unpopular announcement Mr Starmer expected all Labour MPs to publicly support until he U-turned on it 11 months later.

And so the die was cast for a premiership of U-turns in search of popularity instead of policy announcements based on the certainties of principle. The most damaging was the backtracking on much needed welfare reforms; one of the most peculiar was the big idea about digital ID cards, without which you would not be able to get a job in the UK, which seems just to have disappeared like a puff of smoke.

This was enough to make Mr Starmer unpopular, but it cannot explain the visceral hatred that some people have for him. History will look back and wonder why such brutal vitriol has rained down on him when among his achievements are falling NHS waiting lists, raising 450,000 children out of poverty, reducing net migration by two-thirds, and keeping Britain out of Donald Trump’s spectacularly ill-advised war.

Not even his appointment of a paedophile’s friend, Peter Mandelson, can explain it, although sending Mr Mandelson to Washington as Britain’s ambassador was an error from which Mr Starmer has never recovered.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Lady Victoria Starmer on the steps of 10 Downing Street, London, after his speech where he said he will resign as leader of the Labour Party and he has informed the King of his decision. Picture date: Monday June 22, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire (Image: Andrew Matthews)

It must go back to the thinness of that landslide victory in which nearly 70 per cent of voters didn’t buy into Mr Starmer and he did not have the strength of personality, the charisma, to convince them to give him the benefit of the doubt, to connect with them so they felt he was on their side.

In fact, his response has at times been cloth-eared: as people turned to Brexit-backing Reform, he said Britain should move closer to Europe; as voters cried out for new ideas, he brought back Gordon Brown and Harriet Harman from the 1990s.

He wasn’t able to lead the country and he hasn’t been able to lead his party. For some loyalist local MPs, who owed their seats to his landslide, his failings over defence spending were the last straw.

But at least in making the change, Labour isn’t going to fall into the Tories’ trap of 2024 and have two contenders spending the summer touring the country and trashing each other.

Yet are they falling into their own trap of 2007 when Gordon Brown was crowned as prime minister without ever revealing how he would do things differently to his predecessor Tony Blair or what he was grand vision was for the country. And he lost the next election.

Andy Burnham’s first picture in The Northern Echo archives from 2008 when he was Culture Secretary Andy Burnham and visited a Grade II listed pigeon cree built in 1955 by Maurice Surtees (right) on allotments at Ryhope in Sunderland (Image: Owen Humphreys/PA)

And what change is Mr Burnham going to represent? In 2015, I chaired the Labour regional leadership hustings in Newcastle when Mr Burnham stood with Jeremy Corbyn, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall. From my seat on the stage, I could feel Mr Burnham, once regarded as a Blairite, was being sucked leftwards as Mr Corbyn was winning over the crowd.

A Labour insider recently told me that in debates, Andy always tries to go last so he can hoover up all the best applause lines.

Health Secretary Andy Burnham enjoys a lemon top on Redcar sea front while campaigning in 2010. (Image: stuart boulton)

So which policies is Mr Burnham going to champion? How is he going to be different to Mr Starmer when his only democratic mandate is the 2024 manifesto with “change” on the front cover.

Andy Burnham (centre top) arrives at London Euston train station as he travels to Westminster to take up his seat in the House of Commons after winning the Makerfield by-election. Picture date: Monday June 22, 2026. PA Photo. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has resigned as PM and leader of the Labour Party less than two years after coming to power. Sir Keir’s decision to stand down means Labour will now hold a contest to choose his successor, with Andy Burnham seen as the frontrunner. Photo credit should read: Jeff Moore/PA Wire (Image: Jeff Moore)

Are his chumminess, his matchday polo shirts and his lavish eyelashes just going to replace Mr Starmer’s stiffness in a suit, Brylcreemed fringe and nasal awkwardness? Is this just a change of personalities and not policies.

Because for all this talk of change, whoever is the next leader will face the same problems as Mr Starmer: high energy bills, high taxes, high defence spending, high NHS waiting lists, no plans for social care, war in Europe and two more years of Donald Trump. The more things change in No 10, the more they stay the same for the country.

“The irony is that a Prime Minister more sympathetic to Northern Ireland’s funding arguments could ultimately prove more demanding of its politicians.”

Andy Burnham has not yet walked through the door of Downing Street, but Northern Ireland’s political parties are already facing questions they have spent years avoiding.

This morning’s resignation of Keir Starmer potentially signals the arrival of a very different understanding of how the United Kingdom should be governed.

Starmer’s approach to devolution was largely cautious. Whatever frustrations existed between Belfast and London, the broad framework remained familiar as the Treasury demanded financial discipline and Stormont demanded additional funding as the arguments repeated themselves with remarkable consistency.

Burnham appears to view the relationship differently. Throughout his political career, he has argued that the UK’s problems stem from an overly centralised state that systematically favours London and the South East of England. He has frequently drawn comparisons between the economic challenges facing Northern Ireland and those facing the North of England. In his view, both are symptoms of a system that concentrates power and investment in one part of the country while expecting the rest of the country to manage the consequences.

That analysis will be welcomed by many at Stormont. For years, ministers from every major party have argued that Northern Ireland is being asked to deliver public services with insufficient resources. The Executive continues to insist there is a structural gap between what it receives and what it needs to spend, and a Prime Minister who is instinctively sympathetic to those arguments would represent a significant shift.

Yet there is a danger in assuming Burnham would simply be a more generous version of Starmer. His criticism of Westminster has never been based on the belief that local government should be free from responsibility. Quite the opposite. Burnham’s political philosophy is built around devolving both power and accountability.

In that regard, it is worth noting that Stormont’s current disputes revolve around the second of those principles rather than the first.

The Executive has spent years arguing against measures such as water charges while simultaneously arguing that public services are underfunded. Ministers have insisted that Northern Ireland deserves greater flexibility while often showing little appetite for using the powers they already possess. The result has been a political culture in which difficult decisions are routinely deferred while responsibility is directed elsewhere, and a Burnham government may have little patience for that model.

The irony is that a Prime Minister more sympathetic to Northern Ireland’s funding arguments could ultimately prove more demanding of its politicians. Additional investment may come with a greater expectation that Stormont demonstrates a willingness to reform itself.

One of the striking developments of recent months has been the growing willingness among parties outside unionism to revisit elements of the Good Friday Agreement’s operating arrangements. Sinn Féin, Alliance, and the SDLP have all argued, in different ways, that the current structures leave the institutions vulnerable to paralysis. Those arguments have generally been treated with caution in London.

Andy Burnham may view the question differently. His political language is filled with references to collaboration, problem-solving and reducing institutional blockages. If Stormont continues to drift from crisis to crisis, he may be considerably more open than his predecessors to proposals that reduce the ability of individual parties to bring the institutions to a halt, which will concern many unionists, not because constitutional change is imminent, but because it would represent a subtle shift in how Westminster understands Northern Ireland.

For much of the post-Agreement era, preserving the existing balance has been viewed as an objective in itself. Burnham may be more inclined to ask whether the structures are actually delivering effective government.

Perhaps the most intriguing question concerns electoral politics. For decades, Labour’s refusal to stand candidates in Northern Ireland has left a significant section of voters without a direct route to support the party that governs the United Kingdom, and Andy Burnham has long appeared uncomfortable with that arrangement.

If he were to move towards allowing Labour candidates to stand here, the consequences could be profound. The immediate focus would naturally fall on the SDLP, which would face direct competition for centre-left voters. But the longer-term significance may lie elsewhere.

We have spent years discussing the growth of the “other” designation in Northern Ireland and demographic change has attracted enormous attention. Political change perhaps deserves just as much.

A Labour Party operating on traditional economic and social issues would offer something that has largely been absent from local politics, with a major electoral force capable of competing without placing the constitutional question at the centre of every contest.

Whether such a project would succeed is another matter entirely. Northern Ireland has a long history of confounding predictions imported from elsewhere. But that uncertainty points towards the larger significance of a Burnham premiership.

It is worth noting that former SDLP leader Colum Eastwood’s partner, Louise Haigh, is likely to take a prominent position in a Burnham government, and may hold sway over Burnham’s decision to stand candidates in Northern Ireland.

Perhaps the biggest impact for Northern Ireland may be the challenge Andy Burnham’s politics presents to assumptions that have become deeply embedded within Northern Ireland’s political culture. For years, Stormont’s arguments with Westminster have largely been conducted with calls for more money, more powers and more flexibility. Burnham’s arrival could alter the conversation.

If this plays out, it will be worth watching to see what Stormont is prepared to do with greater autonomy if it receives it.

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Lady Eleanor Donaldson will not receive a criminal conviction or face a prison sentence.

Former DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has been found guilty of 18 historical sexual offences, while his wife, Lady Eleanor Donaldson, was found to have committed acts which amounted to aiding and abetting some of those offences.

The offences relate to two women who were children at the time they were carried out.

However, despite the court’s findings, Lady Eleanor Donaldson will not receive a criminal conviction or face a prison sentence.

What happened in court?

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson was convicted of 18 historical sexual offences following a criminal trial.

Lady Eleanor Donaldson faced charges of aiding and abetting some of those offences. However, her case was dealt with through a legal process known as a “trial of the facts” rather than a conventional criminal trial.

The jury found that she had committed the acts alleged by the prosecution, but, because of her legal status in the proceedings, she cannot be convicted of a criminal offence.

What is a trial of the facts?

A trial of the facts is a special court procedure used when a defendant has been found unfit to stand trial.

In a normal criminal trial, a jury decides whether a defendant is guilty or not guilty of an offence.

In a trial of the facts, the jury is asked whether the defendant committed the act or acts alleged by the prosecution.

The jury is not asked to decide whether the person was guilty of a crime because the defendant has been deemed incapable of participating fully in a criminal trial.

Why was Lady Eleanor Donaldson not put on trial in the normal way?

Before the case reached a jury, Lady Eleanor Donaldson was found unfit to stand trial due to her mental health.

A defendant may be found unfit to plead if a court concludes they are unable to properly understand the proceedings, instruct lawyers, challenge evidence or otherwise participate effectively in their own defence.

Once someone is found unfit to stand trial, the criminal trial cannot proceed in the usual manner. Instead, the court holds a trial of the facts.

Does the finding mean she is guilty?

No. This is one of the most important distinctions in the case. A finding in a trial of the facts is not the same as a criminal conviction.

The jury determines only whether the defendant committed the physical acts alleged. It does not decide criminal guilt.

As a result, the court records a finding that the defendant “did the act” rather than a verdict of guilty.

Why won’t she go to prison?

A trial of the facts cannot result in a criminal conviction. Without a conviction, the court cannot impose a prison sentence in the same way it would following a guilty verdict.

Instead, judges have a limited range of disposals available to them.

These can include a supervision order, a hospital order where appropriate, or in some cases an absolute discharge.

The purpose of these measures is not punishment but the management of any risks arising from the conduct that has been proved.

What happens next?

The court will now consider what, if any, order should be made in relation to Lady Eleanor Donaldson following the findings against her.

For Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the case will return to court for sentencing on 25th September when the judge will determine the appropriate punishment for the offences of which he has been convicted.

The sentencing process takes into account a range of factors, including the nature and seriousness of the offences, any aggravating or mitigating circumstances, and sentencing guidelines.

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The Texan sunlight beamed through the glass windows of the Dallas Stadium to bring a divine backdrop to Lionel Messi’s latest two-goal masterpiece.

A glorious 17th World Cup goal, surpassing Germany’s Miroslav Klose’s World Cup record became his latest act to bolster immortal status back home in Argentina and across the world.

After a first hat-trick on this stage to swat Algeria aside, a typically delightful finish with his left instep sent the world champions on their way to a 2-0 victory over the terrier-like Austria. And a second, his 18th in the tournament’s history, came through brute force in stoppage time to extend this relentless start from the world champions, who top Group J and have a place in the last 32 sewn up.

A 201st cap for the albiceleste and a 28th World Cup appearance, Messi continues to endure on this grand stage, but before the ecstasy came a gasp in disbelief at the home of the Dallas Cowboys.

For all of Messi’s superpowers, a ruthless streak from the spot has evaded him occasionally; a rare weakness with 33 missed spot kicks from 149 taken leaves him at a respectable, if not spectacular 78.4 percent success. But in a world where Messi has reimagined what is possible, it remains a puzzling blemish in his arsenal.

A hushed expectation fell across this stadium in the ninth minute, while Austria humbly stood back and allowed Messi time and space to prepare. But Messi’s run-up lacked the intensity of the moment and a casual sweep of his left boot sent the ball curling wide of Alexander Schlager’s post.

But on a lonely walk back to midfield as play resumed back towards Argentina’s goal, an underrated quality in Messi’s legendary career shone brightly.

Across the remainder of the game Messi displayed a resilience to shrug off the disappointment of his misstep and make a vital adjustment to slice Austria apart. With each curious stroll into his own half, vacating the space around the Austrian centre-backs, Argentina started to confuse the Europeans and enable blue and white shirts to flood beyond the ball.

A delicate ball inside to Thiago Almada set the champions on their way and when the ball reached Facundo Medina there were four Argentine players ahead of their talisman. Almada cleverly left the ball, in a moment worthy of an assist and in stark contrast to Cristiano Ronaldo’s reluctance to do so for Bruno Fernandes earlier in the tournament. Waiting, unmarked, was Messi, primed and ready, he cushioned the ball back across goal and inside the left corner with Schlager already committed.

The serenity of the celebration, with two fingers pointing to the stands, quickly descended into a chaotic outpouring of relief to send his team on their way.

But Argentina met an organised Ralf Rangnick outfit, whose gegenpressing lit the fuse to a compelling contest. Enzo Fernandez and Messi exchanged passes like a pinball machine in the opening minutes, with Lautaro Martinez sent through on goal as red shirts descended on him in a panic. Stefan Posch from one side, Xaver Schlager on another, with the pair bundling Martinez to the ground. Martinez lay motionless, but a belated call from VAR ensured a penalty would eventually be given, as Posch grazed the Inter forward’s boot a fraction of a second before Schlager cleanly took the ball.

But after Messi’s shocking miscue, he turned playmaker to reshape the contest. Martinez outmuscled Kevin Danso to release Messi inside the box and his quick feet sent Paul Wanner flying. But David Alaba poked the ball away from Messi and towards his own goal, with Schlager’s outstretched leg preventing an own-goal.

The 38-year-old’s deeper role was causing havoc by this point, with his delicate throughball almost finding Fernandez. Schlager raced off his line to clear, but the ball fell kindly to Messi, who arrowed it towards the empty goal, only for Alaba to scramble back and make the goalline clearance.

The pattern had been set, though, with Messi knitting everything together, including that slick move to break the deadlock.

Austria refused to wilt though as Konrad Laimer outsmarted the clumsy Cristian Romero. Marcel Sabitzer curled the free-kick beautifully towards the top right corner, only for Emi Martinez’s left glove to deflect it away.

Danso’s chest then rebounded Fernandez’s thudding strike with the game still delicately poised.

But the game was gathering pace and opening up space; Sabitzer wrestled free and chipped to the back post, but despite brushing off Medina, Michael Gregoritsch failed to control his header on target.

Argentina gladly opted for a direct approach, too, with Nicolas Tagliafico’s bending ball finding Nicolas Gonzalez in behind, only for Danso’s desperate recovery to prevent a decisive second.

The Spurs defender’s flick-on almost saw a shock Austrian equaliser, but Patrick Wimmer’s header drifted wide.

And just as Austria sniffed a famous draw, Messi ruthlessly dashed their hopes and was sent clear down the right on the break. The Inter Miami star saw Leandro Paredes and Julien Alvarez galloping free to his left. The ball was perfect for Alvarez, who failed to finish, but Paredes squared to Messi inside the box.

After a magnetic first touch, and a rather more familiar quality, Messi’s first effort was blocked, but his second, bludgeoned towards goal and through red shirts sealed it.

An 18th World Cup goal has Argentina in dreamland and into the last 32. Two wins from two games, five goals scored and zero conceded. But in Dallas, it needed the tenacity to shake off a moment of adversity. A precious quality on the road to back-to-back titles.

Mr Burnham has officially taken his seat as Makerfield’s new MP in the House of Commons following last week’s by-election landslide victory.

The moment came just hours after an emotional farewell from Sir Keir Starmer, who this morning announced his resignation as both prime minister and Labour leader.

Mr Burnham has confirmed he wants to succeed Sir Keir, amid suggestions the leadership race could amount to a “coronation” rather than a contest.

Andy Burnham arrives at Portcullis House in Westminster (Image: Andrew Matthews, PA Wire)

His arrival in Parliament was met by a small protest, with some shouting “traitor” as he got out of a taxi from London’s Euston station.

He swept through the parliamentary estate, pausing to greet Labour MPs including former defence secretary John Healey.

Making his way through the Commons chamber, Sir Desmond Swayne, a Conservative former minister, heckled: “Rome is saved.”

Another MP shouted: “He’s not the Messiah”.

However, a cheery Mr Burnham took the jokes in good faith and, in a nod to Monty Python’s Life of Brian, replied: “Naughty boy.”

After being sworn in, the new Makerfield MP posed for pictures with scores of parliamentary colleagues, including former Health Secretary Wes Streeting.

Mr Streeting had set out his intention to enter a leadership contest, claiming the backing of 81 MPs in recent weeks.

However, today he said he would support Mr Burnham to become the next Labour leader, making it highly likely the former Greater Manchester mayor will replace Sir Keir as prime minister in July.

Andy Burnham with colleagues from the Parliamentary Labour Party in Westminster Hall at the Houses of Parliament (Image: Yui Mok/PA Wire)

Mr Burnham’s journey from Manchester to London had been closely monitored, with rolling news coverage tracking his delayed Avanti West Coast train.

It arrived 21 minutes late and he was met by around 50 journalists, photographers and videographers.

Mr Burnham said: “It’s been very, kind of, sad for me today to leave Greater Manchester.”

“The people have been brilliant to me over the last few years. I’ve loved every minute of the role.

“I hope I leave Manchester in a better place.”

Moshe Kasher has revealed the ‘lousy news’ that he underwent surgery after being diagnosed with cancer three months ago.

The Pitt actor, 46, had found a ‘bump’ in his throat, which turned out to be HPV-positive tonsil cancer that needed to be removed.

He had found the lump several months ago while working as a writer on the Judd Apatow-directed film The Comeback King out in Georgia.

‘It was cancer. Which did not rule so hard,’ he wrote in a post, in which he also quipped ‘Happy Father’s Day’ in the caption.

He posted a picture of himself with a bandage on his neck and a tube attached, saying he was on ‘so much oxy[codone] as he wrote a message.

‘Two days ago, a Jewish surgery robot at Cedars-Sinai yanked my jaw open for 5 hours and cut it out and then slit my throat and dissected my neck leaving me with a hardcore neck scar which will make people reluctant to street fight me,’ Moshe penned.

He also shared a diagram of the surgery before continuing his graphic description of the procedure he’d just endured.

‘My tongue was clamped and yanked out of my mouth and is so swollen and bruised,’ the actor continued. ‘I sound like I Am Sam.’

While he appeared to have a sense of humour about the ordeal, Moshe admitted the experience was ‘the most terrifying and consciousness-consuming experience of my life.’

Despite his diagnosis, he remained on set with 12-hour writing days for the Glen Powell-fronted film, to help push through the ‘terror, meditation, tears, and medical planning.’

In a shout-out to the acclaimed director, he added: ‘I truly cannot believe I managed to work an entire movie while dealing with this. But Judd could not have been a more kind, supportive and nurturing friend all while on the verge of a five hour energy overdose from his terrifying habit.’

Moshe also thanked the staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was treated, calling them ‘kind’ and ‘pros’.

Concluding, he wrote: ‘I’m in pain and I’m in the middle of a very difficult process. It’s gonna be a long summer. But the good news is the cancer I have has an incredibly high cure rate (in the 95% zone).

‘As for getting through this – I am. I will continue. I will get better. I’m so grateful I have a life that’s worth living and a kid to raise this Father’s Day.’

Moshe is dad to eight-year-old daughter, Frida, whom he shares with his wife and fellow comedian, Natasha Leggero.

While the actor is best known for his work on The Pitt as Jacob Samuel, a American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter who helps deaf patients, he’s also a comedian and writer.

He and Natasha host the Endless Honeymoon podcast, named after their comedy special of the same name.

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Greater Manchester Police said the individual, Thomas, was last seen at around 6pm on Saturday (June 6) around Birkleigh Walk.

Thomas is described as being around 6ft tall with a medium build, with short light-brown hair and a brown or ginger beard.

He is said to have bright blue eyes, tanned skin, and a wrinkled forehead.

It has been suggested that Thomas may be wearing a Montreal teal-green zip windbreaker.

Officers have stated they are becoming increasingly concerned for Thomas’ safety and wellbeing and are urging the public to come forward with any information that may assist in locating him.

Anyone with information about Thomas’ whereabouts is asked to contact Greater Manchester Police on 101 or 0161 856 5511, quoting log 1514 of June 18.

In emergencies, members of the public are advised to call 999.

The former mayor was swarmed by reporters at Euston station this afternoon

Andy Burnham has issued his verdict on calls for a general election following Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation earlier today (June 22).

The former Greater Manchester mayor was officially sworn in as the new Member of Parliament for Makerfield in the House of Commons this afternoon following his decisive victory in the constituency last Thursday (June 18).

But Burnham has said it would be “jumping several hurdles ahead” to call a general election should he become the next prime minister following Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation, which followed a weekend spent mulling his future with his family at Chequers, the Prime Minister’s country residence, according to PA.

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In a statement outside Downing Street this morning that competed with a protester playing the EU anthem Ode To Joy, Sir Keir said his party had asked “whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election”.

He said: “I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace.”

Defending his record, he pledged to give his successor “my full and unequivocal support, knowing that they will inherit a Britain that is far stronger and fairer than the one I inherited two years ago”.

With a wavering voice, he added: “When I leave the biggest job in the country, I shall spend more time on the most important job, being the best husband I can to my fantastic wife, Vic, who has been a rock by my side through good times and bad, and being the best dad I can to my beautiful children, who are my pride and joy.”

As he arrived in London this afternoon, Mr Burnham was asked about comments he made when Rishi Sunak became prime minister, when he called for a general election.

Asked if he would now call an election, he said: “You’re jumping several hurdles ahead there.”

The former mayor of Greater Manchester added that his “priority” for the day was to officially swear in as an MP, adding: “It’s been very kind of sad for me today to leave Greater Manchester.

“The people have been brilliant to me over the last few years. I’ve loved every minute of the role. I hope I leave Manchester in a better place.”

A coronation for the former Greater Manchester mayor looks increasingly likely after his main rival Wes Streeting backed him. If Mr Burnham is the only candidate to received the support needed to stand in the contest for the vacant Labour leadership, he could become prime minister in mid-July.

And his chances of becoming the next prime minister were boosted by the backing of former health secretary Mr Streeting, who denied he had been offered a job in a future Burnham government in return for his support.

Mr Streeting quit the Cabinet in protest at Sir Keir’s leadership and had previously indicated he would be prepared to fire the starting gun on a contest to oust him if he did not voluntarily quit.

He said he had spoken with Mr Burnham “at length” and concluded he could “win the fight of our lives against the forces of nationalism”.

Sir Keir 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.

But the anointing of a new leader could come much sooner, with nominations closing on July 16. Sir Keir’s decision to quit means the UK will now have its seventh prime minister in a decade.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called for a general election in the wake of Sir Keir’s resignation, tweeting: “If Labour thinks it can shove another professional politician into No 10, it has another thing coming.”

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said there should be an election “if Andy Burnham is not able to set out how he’s going to keep our country safe” amid an ongoing row within government over defence funding.

Other opposition figures stopped short of demanding an election, but urged Sir Keir’s successor to be bold.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: “Whoever becomes prime minister needs to drop the caution and complacency and show the ambition our country deserves.”

Green leader Zack Polanski said the country needed “a bold change of direction”, adding: “The time for half measures and sticking plasters is long gone – if he becomes the next PM, Burnham must be bold or he will be bust.”