LONDON — It’s like The X Factor never went away.
Senior Labour politicians are hitting the airwaves and social media extolling the virtues of Andy Burnham — and themselves.
As the man pretty much nailed on to be Britain’s next prime minister considers who he will put in his Cabinet, POLITICO runs through the most brazen pitches for power from MPs once loyal to Keir Starmer.
Wes Streeting
The ex-health secretary once favored a contest rather than coronation to replace Starmer — then he saw the political tides turning.
Hours after Starmer quit, Streeting declared he wouldn’t run against Burnham, recognizing it was a choice between spending the summer “exaggerating small differences,” or all working together — a.k.a. back in the Cabinet?
He appears to be auditioning for various jobs.
Days before Burnham won his seat in the Makerfield by-election, Streeting made a big economic speech laying out his vision for “progressive capitalism.”
He has praised Burnham’s devolution plan as “spot on,” claiming there is “finally some hope again.”
And he has also been delving into defense policy, with a question in parliament on funding last week.
Shamelessness rating: 9/10.
Mike Tapp
Home Office minister Mike Tapp — one of Starmer’s top defenders as his leadership crumbled — was quick out of the blocks with a softer-on-immigration policy pitch just three days after the prime minister announced he was stepping down.
He penned an article for The Times newspaper calling for migrant care workers to be exempt from hardline immigration rules just as the soft-left Burnham looked the shoo-in for the top job.
Mike Tapp attends a televised debate in Birmingham, England on Sept. 10, 2025. | Tracey Welch/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Sky NewsHome Secretary Shabana Mahmood was furious about the unauthorized article, and unsuccessfully urged Starmer to sack him for breaching collective responsibility.
“Government sources” were quoted in the Times accusing Tapp of taking proposals that the home secretary was working on, and briefing them as his own.
Tapp insisted he was putting his views across on a policy he had been working on for months.
Shamelessness rating: 9/10.
Al Carns
The ex-defense minister had ambitions for the top job, and flirted with challenging Burnham until Wednesday evening, just before nominations opened.
Carns, a Royal Marines reservist, told Sky News a three-month competition is “probably not the best use of Labour’s time” due to the “internal bloodletting” and MPs should “get on the boat and row in the same direction.”
Though insisting his brief foray into leadership chatter was all about “debate,” his prolific policy posting suggests nobody has ever wanted to be defense secretary more.
Shamelessness rating: 9/10.
Ed Miliband
The energy secretary failed to reach No. 10 Downing Street as Labour leader in 2015 — now he is being tipped as a contender to live in the house next door as chief finance minister.
Miliband, a former adviser to ex-Labour Chancellor Gordon Brown, burnished his ministerial credentials over the weekend with a long X thread promoting his work on all things energy over the last two years— complete with pictures of him decked out in hard hats and hi-vis clothing to show the lengths he will go to get things done.
Shamelessness rating: 8/10.
Lucy Powell
Powell was sacked from Starmer’s Cabinet last year. Now she has her own mandate after becoming the Labour Party’s elected deputy leader.
Lucy Powell arrives in Downing Street in London on April 21, 2026. | Leon Neal/Getty ImagesThe Burnham ally, who is also a Greater Manchester MP, told Times Radio she’s “seen some of the limitations” of being second-in-command on the backbenches — but she’s of course “happy to contribute in whatever way necessary.”
Shamelessness rating: 8/10.
Yvette Cooper
Britain’s foreign secretary is making clear she wants to stay in that great office of state.
Cooper — a veteran Labour politician who also served as a minister under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown — penned an extensive Chatham House essay on Monday giving her thesis of the global challenges facing Britain.
She highlighted the “threats on the international stage,” and said Britain needs “not just to weather the storm but steer an active course” — is that code for stability at the Foreign Office?
As one of the most senior women in government, she also warned Burnham about maintaining gender balance in his top team, telling Sky News she wants “to see as many talented women in as many posts as possible.”
A competitor for the post, David Miliband — who was foreign secretary under Brown, and has been running the International Rescue Committee since he left British politics in 2013 — is also setting out his stall as Burnham finalizes his top team. The brother of Ed Miliband will give a lecture about “power and its missing guardrails” Thursday evening.
Shamelessness rating: 8/10.
Angela Rayner
Rayner, who was once tipped as a leadership contender, wants everyone to know she is the OG when it comes to Burnham’s central policy pitch — devolution.
The ex-deputy prime minister told the New Economics Foundation Burnham can “get cracking” on devolution because she “laid the groundwork” as housing secretary, echoing his claim Whitehall is “part of the problem.”
It appears Rayner — who was forced to resign from Starmer’s government over her property tax affairs — has some unfinished business. She said an HMRC investigation was closed in May after she settled a £40,000 unpaid bill without paying a penalty.
Shamelessness rating: 7/10.
Angela Rayner attends an event at No. 10 Downing St. in London on July 28, 2025. | Andy Rain/EPARachel Reeves
Britain’s first female chancellor will almost certainly leave the Treasury under Burnham — but that hasn’t stopped her making her economic pitch.
Reeves, who didn’t turn up to watch Starmer’s tearful resignation speech, said she hopes the next PM “sticks to what I’m doing because it is beginning to bear fruit.”
Speaking at the British Chambers of Commerce conference, Reeves stressed: “There is more to do.”
She has heaped praise on Burnham as a “great communicator” with a “great track record.”
Sadly for Reeves, hers may be a lost cause.
Shamelessness rating: 6/10.
Steve Reed
Reed — the housing secretary who remained a staunch loyalist of Starmer’s to the end — has become a born-again Burnhamite.
Six days after Starmer’s tearful Downing Street resignation, Reed was on the Sunday media round defending Burnham’s devolution pitch — insisting it wouldn’t breach Labour’s 2024 manifesto.
The communities secretary has branded Burnham’s flagship No. 10 North plan a “great idea,” and said it is “quite right” to put devolution at the heart of the next government’s thinking.
Reed says Burnham’s future agenda is something he can “fully support.”
Shamelessness rating: 6/10.
John Healey
Another former Cabinet big-hitter who appears to have some unfinished business is Healey.
John Healey views houses for military personnel in Helensburgh, Scotland on Jan. 15, 2026. | Steve Welsh/PA Images via Getty ImagesHis resignation as defense secretary last month likely sealed Starmer’s fate as prime minister.
Healey has since posted long X threads about Starmer’s defense investment plan, and given an interview criticizing the Treasury over military spending.
His explicit criticisms of the status quo echo Burnham’s revolutionary rhetoric.
Shamelessness rating: 5/10.
… and then there’s Darren Jones
Jones — another Starmer ally who was briefly mooted as a leadership contender — showed a glimmer of self-awareness when asked if he wants to remain chief secretary to the prime minister.
Speaking at POLITICO’s London Playbook Live summit Tuesday, Jones said he hopes Burnham keeps the chief secretary post, which was created last year, but doesn’t want to stay in post: “I don’t want it. I’ve had a great time … I’m not the right person to be the next chief secretary.”
His political ambitions haven’t vanished into thin air just yet, though. He added that he would be “delighted” to serve in a different position.
Honesty rating: 10/10.