Leadership rules should ‘not be tweaked’ to let Burnham run for PM, Labour NEC member says

Burnham’s backers understood to be lobbying Labour’s NEC who warn against Wes Streeting ‘coronation’

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The rules governing Labour party leadership contests should “not be tweaked” to allow Andy Burnham to run, a member of the party’s National Executive Committee has said.

With the health secretary preparing to launch a leadership challenge against Keir Starmer on Thursday, if he can secure the support of enough MPs to trigger a contest, allies of Burnham have warned against a “coronation” for Wes Streeting as the next prime minister.