Wes Streeting has announced he will back Andy Burnham in the upcoming Labour leadership contest.

In a statement posted on X, Streeting said: “We were elected [to] change our country, to show that politics can be a force for good, and to spread opportunity for everyone. With Andy, we still can.”

Following Keir Starmer’s resignation this morning, Burnham has reiterated his intention to stand for the top job. With nominations opening on 9 July, the newly-elected MP for Makerfield is now even more likely to become the next prime minister.

Former health secretary Streeting, who resigned over Labour’s abysmal May election results, had previously said he would stand as a candidate in any leadership contest.

This morning, he switched his position, saying: “We could spend the summer exaggerating small differences, or we can roll up our sleeves and help [Burnham] to deliver the change our party and our country needs. That is the choice that I am making.”

Burnham will be sworn in as the MP for Makerfield today, after his barnstorming byelection win last week which saw him take 55% of the vote, 9,000 votes more than Reform UK’s Robert Kenyon who came second with 35%.

A new Labour leader and new prime minister will be in place by the time parliament returns from its summer recess in September.

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