Andy Burnham has moved a step closer to becoming prime minister after Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister, said he would not stand in a Labour leadership contest.<\/p>\n
Jones, who had been mooted as a candidate who could put Burnham\u2019s ideas to a test in a race, told Sky News that he had had a \u201creassuring conversation\u201d with the newly elected MP for Makerfield about his economic policy plans.<\/p>\n
He told Sky\u2019s Beth Rigby that he was confident Burnham understood the fiscal rules<\/a>, which Burnham has already committed to abiding by should be come to power.<\/p>\n The move makes Burnham\u2019s coronation as prime minister next month almost inevitable although the former defence minister Al Carns is being watched after he indicated he was still weighing up a run.<\/p>\n Asked whether he would stand, Jones said: \u201cI\u2019m not. And, look, I\u2019m flattered by the support from colleagues, whether MPs or other important stakeholders in the party, but, look, it\u2019s not something that I\u2019m going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n He urged Burnham to set out more of his economic policy to reassure Labour<\/a> MPs, saying there were \u201cupwards 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\u201d.<\/p>\n However, Jones also said he could have won the support of enough MPs to cross the threshold to stand, adding that more than a quarter of Labour MPs were unhappy at the prospect of a Burnham coronation. \u201cThere are lots of MPs who either want a contest or want assurance on economic policy, or a bit of both,\u201d said Jones, who described Burnham as a friend.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there was a contest of Labour party members, he would win. So the question for me is, well, what would the benefit be to the country and to the party of a leadership contest?<\/p>\n \u201cBut I hear my colleagues\u2019 concerns in wanting reassurance from Andy and his team, and he should present that to them, because he will want to bring all parts of the parliamentary Labour party with him as he becomes prime minister. And I think it\u2019s important that he does that.\u201d<\/p>\n Separately, when it came to Burnham\u2019s plans, Jones said \u201cthere\u2019s room to borrow a little bit more\u201d for specific projects.<\/p>\n He also referred to concerns from some MPs about who would emerge as a new chancellor if Burnham moves \u2013 as expected \u2013 to replace Rachel Reeves.<\/p>\n It is understood that some on the right of the party have reservations about Ed Miliband stepping into the role. The energy secretary has also been increasingly targeted by the rightwing press and commentators.<\/p>\n Burnham\u2019s supporters are divided over who should be his chancellor<\/a>, with a briefing war breaking out between advocates of the former health secretary Wes Streeting<\/a> and those close to Miliband.<\/p>\n Referring to fellow Labour MPs, Jones said: \u201cTheir concern is, well, who is Andy going to appoint as chancellor? What does that mean for the trust that we have won from the public on being trusted on the economy? And how do we ensure stability in the economy whilst delivering on our policy objectives?<\/p>\n