Andy Burnham's last rivals wilt in the heat as Darren Jones pulls out - and ex-Marine Al Carns says he 'wants to get behind' the favourite

By JAMES TAPSFIELD, UK POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 08:19, 24 June 2026 | Updated: 08:27, 24 June 2026 Andy Burnham's last rivals look to be wilting in the heat today as Darren Jones declared he will not stand.   Allies of the Cabinet minister - a Starmer loyalist - had been talking up the prospect of a challenge to avoid a 'coronation'. But Mr Jones ruled out trying to force a contest this morning, saying he had been 'reassured' in a conversation with Mr Burnham. Meanwhile, former defence minister Al Carns suggested he is also unlikely to seek nominations from Labour MPs. Appearing on BBC Newsnight, the ex-Royal Marine stopped short of completely dismissing the idea, but said he 'wants to get behind' Mr Burnham. Mr Burnham's momentum towards Downing Street seems unstoppable after his Makerfield by-election landslide and Keir Starmer's resignation. If no other candidate emerges he will be installed as PM on July 17.  Attention has been turning to the shape of his top team, and particularly who will be Chancellor in the new administration. Despite desperate lobbying, Mr Burnham's allies have been signalling that Rachel Reeves will not cling on in No11. But unions, businesses and Labour moderates have voiced alarm at the possibility Ed Miliband could get the nod.  Andy Burnham's last rivals look to be wilting in the heat today as he closes in on No10 Darren Jones ruled out trying to force a contest this morning, saying he had been 'reassured' in a conversation with Mr Burnham Asked on Sky News whether he would stand for the leadership, Mr Jones said: 'I'm not. And, look, I'm flattered by the support from colleagues, whether MPs or other important stakeholders in the party, but, look, it's not something that I'm going to do.' He urged Mr Burnham to set out more of his economic policy to reassure Labour MPs, saying there were 'upwards of 100 MPs who have expressed concerns either around a contest or economic policy, or who were just feeling pretty depressed off the back of Keir Starmer resigning'. He added: 'My last conversation with Andy Burnham was to say, 'look, MPs are asking me to stand. I'm not going to but they're asking me to stand for a reason, and that's because they want you to set out more about your economic policy'.' Mr Jones also gave a veiled warning about Mr Miliband as chancellor. Despite insisting he would not 'get into personalities', Mr Jones set out 'tests' for who should be in No11. He said: 'I think the next chancellor needs to be able to have a clear view about the political economy and understand how the Treasury works. 'I think they need to have an important relationship with the prime minister, because, quite frankly, in many circumstances the chancellor in the Treasury is more powerful than the prime minister in Downing Street. 'So, you have to have someone that's going to enable the delivery of the prime minister's priorities and not try to control the prime minister. And that relationship is really critical. 'You also need a chancellor that can reassure the markets, reassure the trade unions and reassure the parliamentary Labour Party, and by extension the public.' Former defence minister Al Carns suggested he is also unlikely to seek nominations from Labour MPs Pressed whether Mr Miliband 'falls short' of his tests, Mr Jones said: 'I will let you mark those tests, but those are the tests I think need to be met.' Mr Carns said he was waiting for Mr Burnham to flesh out his policy platform before making a final decision on whether to stand. 'We just want to see behind AB what are the policies that he's going to really push forward,' he said. 'We want to get behind him, step off on the right foot together and go hell for leather to deliver over the next three years. 'But we need to see that material before I can make a decision to back anyone.' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.