In a leader comment, the Daily Mail criticises the rush of Labour MPs to back Andy Burnham as he closes in on the party leadership and, potentially, No 10, having secured 322 nominations to replace Sir Keir Starmer. The paper's central concern is that Burnham is poised to become prime minister without a proper mandate or public scrutiny of his policies, arguing that neither his backers nor the wider public know what he actually intends to do in office.

The comment notes that Burnham's only electoral mandate stems from the roughly 25,000 people who voted for him in the Makerfield by-election, and that by avoiding a full leadership contest he has escaped detailed debate on major national issues. It points to his ruling out of "crude" welfare cuts as a sign he will not tackle the benefits bill, and raises concerns about warnings from the Office for Budget Responsibility on the public finances. The piece also claims Burnham spent the past year quietly drawing up a road map while serving as Mayor of Greater Manchester.