Former Defence Minister Al Carns has said he will not stand for the Labour leadership and urged his party to get behind Andy Burnham.
He told Sky News a leadership contest was “not the best use of Labour’s time” and in his view “we need to get on board” with Burnham.
Carns’s decision means Burnham is the only Labour MP who has declared his intention to bid for the Labour leadership, following Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation as prime minister last month.
Earlier this week, Carns had said he could not support Burnham until he had seen more detail about his plan for government.
But Carns said after speaking with Burnham on Tuesday, he had concluded the Makerfield MP would “make the right decisions and move the country forward”.
Burnham is widely expected to be the next Labour leader and prime minister later this month.
The process to elect a new Labour leader starts on Thursday, when the window for MPs to nominate candidates opens.
Leadership candidates need nominations from 20% of the party’s MPs – 81 – to be eligible.
They also need to be nominated by at least three of the 31 socialist societies and trade unions affiliated to the party, or 5% of the constituency Labour parties (CLPs).
As there are 403 Labour MPs, if Burnham gets 323 nominations, it is mathematically impossible for anyone else to enter the contest.
In this scenario, Burnham could be Labour leader by 17 July, and then take office as prime minister three days later on 20 July, to allow time for the transfer of power.
Burnham said he would seek the Labour leadership after winning a by-election in Makerfield and returning to Westminster last month.
Sir Keir resigned as prime minister on the same day Burnham was sworn in as an MP, saying in his resignation speech he had heard the answer to the question of whether “I am best placed to lead us into the next general election”.
Wes Streeting, the former health secretary, was considering a bid to replace Sir Keir as Labour leader.
But he decided to back Burnham shortly after Sir Keir’s resignation.
Carns had also been weighing up his chances at becoming the next Labour leader.
He resigned as defence minister over a row about the level of military spending.
But when asked by Sky News presenter Cathy Newman if he would put himself forward, Carns said “internal blood letting” was not in the party’s best interests.
“So, my view would be we need to get on board,” Carns said.
“Andy’s done a good job with Manchester, he’s done a great job during Covid, he’s seen the Manchester Arena attack and dealt with that very effectively, and the economic trajectory of Manchester’s in a positive way.
“If we can do that at the local, the regional level, and the national level, I think that’s hitting the right place.”
