Starmer and Burnham hold 'secret talks' as PM plans to hand over power

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Published: 17:18 BST, 23 June 2026 | Updated: 18:39 BST, 23 June 2026

Keir Starmer and Andy Burnham today held 'secret talks' as the Prime Minister prepares to hand over power to Labour's 'King of the North' on July 17.The pair are said to have met for an hour at an 'off-site' location away from Downing Street.It is the first time Sir Keir and Mr Burnham have spoken since Mr Burnham won last week's Makerfield by-election and returned to Westminster.Following his tearful resignation statement on Monday, Sir Keir on Tuesday morning told Cabinet ministers he wants an 'orderly transition' to a new Labour premier.Sir Keir insisted he would try to make the process 'as easy as possible' for his successor as Labour leader and PM, which is all but certain to be Mr Burnham.He also told his Cabinet he would seek to 'resolve difficult issues in the coming weeks'.Downing Street revealed that Mr Burnham will begin to receive Government briefings from the civil service as he prepares to take power.Sir Keir has agreed with Cabinet Secretary Antonia Romeo that access talks with 'prospective candidates' to replace him can begin as soon as possible, No10 said. Keir Starmer and Andy Burnham today held 'secret talks' as the Prime Minister prepares to hand over power to Labour's 'King of the North' on July 17 It is the first time Sir Keir and Mr Burnham have spoken since Mr Burnham won last week's Makerfield by-election and returned to WestminsterLabour is planning a special conference on July 17 to announce the result of the party's leadership contest with Mr Burnham expected to become PM the same day.According to PoliticsHome, Labour's ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) met on Monday to discuss the timetable for electing Sir Keir's replacement. Manchester council leader bids to replace Burnham The leader of Manchester City Council will stand as Labour's candidate to replace Andy Burnham as Greater Manchester mayor, the party has announced.Announcing her candidacy for the mayoralty, Bev Craig said: 'Greater Manchester is a special place – from the industrial revolution, the trade union and co-operative movements and the suffragettes – this place has always fought for progress. This place changed my life and I owe it everything it gave me opportunities I could never have imagined, and I've spent my career trying to give something back.'While Westminster left places like ours behind, Greater Manchester has taken control of our own future and we've started building our own success.'Working alongside former mayor Andy Burnham, we have achieved so much over the – bringing buses back under public control, creating jobs, attracting investment, and pushing Greater Manchester forward as a real powerhouse of the North West.'But for too many people, who work hard and do the right thing, life still feels too hard and unaffordable. As mayor I will apply a simple test: will it make life better?'I will work every day for us to make sure everyone shares in the success Greater Manchester is building, making sure there's more money in people's pockets, pride in every town centre with a New High Streets Fund, a new generation of council and affordable homes and an expanded Bee Network that freezes fares and that works for all of us.'That's why I'm standing to be mayor, to build a Greater Manchester that works for everyone.' The website reported that Labour MPs will nominate leadership contenders from July 9 to July 15, with a hustings event held on July 13.The party's affiliated organisations - such as trade unions - will then make their nominations from July 15 to July 16, with the special conference planned for the next day.A Labour source said the party had decided that Mr Burnham would need to be nominated by both MPs and affiliates to be validly nominated, even if he is the only leadership candidate.As Sir Keir faces up to overseeing a 'caretaker' administration until his successor is chosen, Downing Street said no 'major' new policy decisions or spending pledges would be made in the coming weeks.But the PM does intend to publish the Defence Investment Plan (DIP), which has been delayed for months amid a furious Whitehall funding row, before he attends a Nato summit in Turkey on July 7.This is despite claims Mr Burnham wants to decide himself on the multi-billion-pound package.Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis on Tuesday confirmed the political uncertainty in No10 would not delay the DIP.He told a conference organised by the Royal United Services Institute think-tank: 'There will now be a change of PM. There will be no change in the urgent need to produce the defence investment plan.'The DIP is a significant, detailed, and vast piece of work. The Department has been working on it for 12 months.'In his resignation statement, Sir Keir said he would ask the NEC to set out a timetable that would see a new Labour leader in place by the time Parliament returns from its summer recess on September 1, if there is a full-scale contest.But Mr Burnham is widely expected to be the only candidate when nominations close on July 16.Leadership candidates have to amass the support of at least 81 Labour MPs.