Chancellor Rachel Reeves has warned prospective Labour leader Andy Burnham that he must enter Downing Street with a "worked-through plan", cautioning that the incoming prime minister will quickly face a series of "shocks and challenges". Speaking in what could be one of her final major interviews as chancellor, Reeves urged Burnham to stay focused on the priorities that first drew him into politics, acknowledging that Labour had lost the confidence of both its MPs and the public amid impatience for change.

Burnham's leadership bid has been backed by 322 of Labour's 403 MPs, leaving him one short of the threshold that would make a rival challenge mathematically impossible; if unopposed, he is expected to become party leader on 17 July and prime minister on 20 July. He has set out plans for the "biggest rebalancing of power Britain has ever seen", including a new "No 10 North" hub, and has hinted at early cost-of-living support. Reeves argued Burnham would inherit a stronger economy than she did, though she conceded she would have made different choices, and the latest ONS figures show falling disposable incomes and debts set to be higher by the end of the parliament.