Andy Burnham must appear before MPs ahead of their long summer holiday, the Tories have demanded, given how little is known of his plans for the country.
The Conservatives say it would be ‘unacceptable’ for the party’s next leader to continue to escape scrutiny by becoming Prime Minister a week today after Parliament is due to rise for six weeks.
They are calling on Labour to delay the lengthy recess for one more sitting day so that Mr Burnham can address the Commons and face questions from all sides on his policies and choice of ministers.
Jesse Norman, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, told the Daily Mail last night: ‘Andy Burnham is days away from becoming Prime Minister and he is leaving the country in the dark on his plans.
‘Apart from a handful of press releases and a proposal to move civil servants to Manchester, basic questions remain unanswered. He won’t even take questions from the press.
‘That is why Mr Burnham must come to Parliament, make a statement and take questions on July 20. Parliament should not have to wait until September to start getting answers.’
He has written to Sir Alan Campbell, Leader of the Commons, asking him to delay the summer recess that is due to start on Thursday, just as nominations formally close for the contest to succeed Sir Keir Starmer as Labour leader.
Although Mr Burnham will be crowned the following day since no other candidates are standing, he will not become Prime Minister until Monday. This is because Sir Keir has to formally tender his resignation to the King at Buckingham Palace the next working day after the changeover.
However the timing also means Sir Keir will still be PM on the day of the World Cup final on Sunday, and could travel to the US to watch the match if England beat Argentina in the semi-final.
Andy Burnham could become Prime Minister next Monday, just after the World Cup Final and Parliament’s summer recess
Jesse Norman, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons has written to Sir Alan Campbell, Leader of the Commons, asking him to delay the summer recess
The Tories pointed out in their letter, which was copied to Mr Burnham, that since becoming MP for Makerfield last month he has given just one major speech without taking questions afterwards.
As there has not been a proper contest for Labour leader, he has not faced any hustings events and has barely been seen in Parliament – apart from taking a selfie surrounded by MPs on his first day back.
A spokesman for Mr Burnham insisted he would set out ‘his vision’ and answer questions over the summer, with public events as well as media interviews.
He will also speak to Labour MPs this evening and will be closely watched to see how he votes on the outgoing government’s immigration bill.
When asked what would change under Mr Burnham, serving minister Sir Chris Bryant said yesterday: ‘Number one, we’ve got to get quicker at making decisions as a government… because I think people are frustrated about the delay in change.’
A Labour Party spokesman said: ‘Labour’s ruling body, the National Executive Committee, has set out a clear timetable for the election of the next leader. While that process is ongoing, MPs are able to scrutinise the Government in the normal way.’
