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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.
Jones, who had been mooted as a candidate who could put Burnham’s ideas to a test in a race, told Sky News that he had had a “reassuring conversation” with the newly elected MP for Makerfield about his economic policy plans.
He told Sky’s Beth Rigby that he was confident Burnham understood the fiscal rules, which Burnham has already committed to abiding by should be come to power.
The move makes Burnham’s 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.
Asked whether he would stand, 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 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”.
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. “There are lots of MPs who either want a contest or want assurance on economic policy, or a bit of both,” said Jones, who described Burnham as a friend.
“If 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?
“But I hear my colleagues’ 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’s important that he does that.”
Separately, when it came to Burnham’s plans, Jones said “there’s room to borrow a little bit more” for specific projects.
He also referred to concerns from some MPs about who would emerge as a new chancellor if Burnham moves – as expected – to replace Rachel Reeves.
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.
Burnham’s supporters are divided over who should be his chancellor, with a briefing war breaking out between advocates of the former health secretary Wes Streeting and those close to Miliband.
Referring to fellow Labour MPs, Jones said: “Their 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?
Asked for his view of Miliband as chancellor, Jones said: “I’m not going to get into personalities.” But setting out his “tests” for who takes on the role, 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.”
Asked whether Miliband fell short of his tests, Jones said: “I will let you mark those tests, but those are the tests I think need to be met.”
Burnham has chosen his Blairite former colleague James Purnell as his chief of staff, the Guardian understands, as he begins to finalise his team for government.
