Burnham allies confident of No 10 ‘coronation’ after surge in backers (opens in new tab)

Some Labour MPs still want former mayor to face the ‘scrutiny’ of ideas through a contested leadership contestAllies of Andy Burnham are increasingly confident of a coronation-style transfer of power after the number of MPs backing his planned leadership bid surged following his byelection victory.Burnham and his team are understood to have spent the last few days enlisting the support of MPs and ministers, as he prepares to challenge Keir Starmer in the coming weeks.