STORY
Keir Starmer has authorised civil service access talks for prospective Labour leadership candidates as Andy Burnham prepares for the possibility of entering Downing Street. Starmer and Burnham held an hour-long off-site meeting, their first since Burnham won the Makerfield by-election and returned to the House of Commons.
The talks are intended to allow Burnham, and any other qualifying candidate, to receive briefings on the work of Government before the leadership process is complete. Starmer told ministers that he wanted an orderly transition and that he would try to make the handover as smooth as possible.
Burnham is now the front-runner to replace Starmer as Labour leader and prime minister. If no rival emerges with sufficient parliamentary support, he could take office before Parliament rises for the summer, although the formal leadership process still needs to run through its scheduled stages.