Keir Starmer Opens Door For ‘Access Talks’ With Andy Burnham

Keir Starmer has opened the door for his likely successor Andy Burnham to start receiving government briefings as soon as possible.

The spokesperson for No.10 told reporters: “The prime minister wants a smooth transition, and has been clear that he wants to make this as easy as possible.

“That’s why the prime minister has agreed that access talks can take place with prospective candidates for the Labour leadership as soon as possible and before formal nominations have closed [on July 16].”

The prime minister’s spokesperson said that means they could start before nominations open on July 9.

So far only Burnham, who was sworn in as the Makerfield MP on Monday, has publicly confirmed that he will be running to replace Starmer.

Former health secretary Wes Streeting was expected to join any contest, but he has since announced he will be backing Burnham.

All eyes are on chief secretary to the PM Darren Jones and former Armed Forces minister Al Carns to see if they have the backing of the 81 MPs needed to join the race.

If Burnham runs uncontested, he could be in No.10 by July 17 or 18 at the earliest.

If there is a competition, Starmer explained on Monday that a battle for the crown will run across the summer and his replacement would be installed by September 1.

It’s unclear how the Cabinet Office will define a “prospective” candidate.

These confidential “access talks” will be led and coordinated by cabinet secretary Antonia Romeo.

Ministers will not be present and will not receive a report of discussions in line with the Civil Service Code.

Romeo will have overall responsibility for coordinating the process “once a request has been made and authorised by the prime minister”, according to the spokesperson.

The talks will focus on “formation of government and key policy priorities” so the civil service can “prepare for any outcome”.

“The civil service’s focus remains on serving the government of the day in line with the Civil Service Code,” the spokesperson said.

It’s understood there has not yet been a request to see these government briefings.

The prime minister also held his first cabinet meeting this morning since he announced his resignation.

According to the readout released by Downing Street, Starmer told his colleagues “he wanted whoever became the next prime minister to succeed.”

“He added he wanted an orderly transition, as he had set out yesterday, and would seek to resolve difficult issues in the coming weeks to support his successor.

“The prime minister said he would seek to make the transition as easy as possible, giving his full support to whoever followed in his footsteps.”

His official spokesperson also revealed the government will not make any major announcements or spending commitments until the new PM is in no.10.

As the UK’s top civil servant, Romeo has written to heads of departments advising them on how to continue as the “business of government will proceed as normal”.

However, the spokesperson said the long-awaited Defence Investment Plan will still be published before the Nato summit on July 7 – and is expected to include new spending plans.

This may prove to be an obstacle with Burnham as he allegedly wants to make a decision on spending himself, according to The Times.

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