Andy Burnham prepares for a UK Labour leadership contest that may be a coronation

LONDON (AP) — Andy Burnham, Britain’s newest lawmaker and likely its next prime minister, was meeting Labour colleagues on Tuesday in preparation for a leadership contest in which he may be the only contender.

Burnham is the strong front-runner to replace Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who announced Monday that he will step down within weeks after two years in office marred by missteps and judgment errors that eroded his standing with party and public.

Burnham, a former Cabinet minister who served since 2017 as mayor of Greater Manchester, won a special election last week for a seat in Parliament with the express aim of challenging Starmer for the leadership.

Burnham’s chances got a big boost on Monday when former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who was considered his main rival, announced his support.

Britain’s parliamentary system allows governing parties to change leaders — and thus prime ministers — without the need for a national election. The next general election does not have to be held until 2029.

Nominations for the Labour leadership will open July 9 and close a week later. If Burnham is the only contender, he could be prime minister by July 17. If there is a contest, the winner should be in place by the time Parliament returns from its summer break on Sept. 1.

Burnham was a popular mayor of Manchester, overseeing a period of rapid regeneration for the city where the Industrial Revolution was forged, and has pledged to repeat his signature brand of “Manchesterism” on a national scale.

Many Labour members hope Burnham’s people skills and charisma can connect with the public more than the stolid, managerial Starmer could ever do.

But his policies in many areas are unknown and untested. Some Labour lawmakers want to see a party election contest where he would face public debate and scrutiny.

Burnham is expected to make a speech next week outlining some of his economic plans.

Former Armed Forces Minister Al Carns, who quit this month to protest what he saw as inadequate defense spending, said “we need to have a clear and concise discussion about what this country wants to be.”

He has suggested he might run for the leadership but told broadcaster ITV that “I’m not ready to make a decision on this in any way, shape or form.”

Others have suggested Darren Jones, a senior Cabinet minister and Starmer ally, should run, though he has yet to comment.

Potential candidates need the support of at least 81 Labour lawmakers, a fifth of the parliamentary party, to run.

Many argue that a leadership contest will only focus attention on the party’s internal divisions and extend a period of political uncertainty.

“I think the transition should be swift and orderly,” Cabinet Office Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds told the BBC.

Starmer resigned on Monday after a weekend considering his future, acknowledging that the Labour Party no longer thinks “I am best placed to lead us into the next general election.”

He was the sixth prime minister in a decade to stand outside No. 10 Downing St. and announce a departure. It comes as Britain marks the 10th anniversary of its vote to leave the European Union, a decision that still roils the country’s economy and politics.

After weeks of insisting he would fight to keep his job, Starmer conceded to growing pressure to hand over to a new leader who can try and revive the government’s flagging fortunes. He led Labour to a landslide election victory in July 2024, but since then his popularity and that of the party have plummeted.

Starmer has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living. He has been hamstrung by repeated missteps, including his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as U.K. ambassador to the United States.

Labour is losing liberal voters to the growing Green Party and facing a rising Reform UK, the Nigel Farage -led anti-immigration party that consistently leads in nationwide opinion polls.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks to the media outside 10 Downing Street to announce his resignation in London, Monday, June 22, 2026.(AP Photo/Thomas Krych)

Andy Burnham, front left, is sworn-in as an MP in the House of Common in London, England, Monday, June 22, 2026. (House of Commons via AP)

Andy Burnham with colleagues from the Parliamentary Labour Party in Westminster Hall at the Houses of Parliament in central London, as he returns to the House of Commons to take up his seat after winning the Makerfield by-election, Monday June 22, 2026. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

Andy Burnham with colleagues from the Parliamentary Labour Party in Westminster Hall at the Houses of Parliament in central London, as he returns to the House of Commons to take up his seat after winning the Makerfield by-election, Monday June 22, 2026. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s president was traveling to Pakistan on Tuesday for talks with officials who have been mediating negotiations between Tehran and Washington on a permanent end to the war in the Middle East.

President Masoud Pezeshkian’s visit to Islamabad comes as technical teams are working on details of the deal, following high-level negotiations in Switzerland on Monday led by US Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf.

Vance had said that the negotiations in Switzerland won an agreement for International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to visit Iranian nuclear sites, but Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran on Tuesday no visits have been scheduled to the facilities earlier bombed by the United States.

The IAEA, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, has been in and out of Iran since Israel’s 12-day war against Iran in 2025, but has not been granted access to the bombed enrichment sites targeted by the U.S. in that war.

Security was tight in the area of Islamabad where the Iranian president was to meet with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. It's his first visit since the conflict started with the American and Israeli attack on Iran on Feb. 28.

Pezeshkian and Sharif were to hold joint news conference after their discussions.

In the initial talks, marking the start of a 60-day diplomatic process that seeks to reach a permanent deal to end the Iran war, Iran and the U.S. agreed to create a “de-confliction cell” to address the fighting in Lebanon between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia group. The U.S. said negotiators also discussed “mechanisms” to ensure the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the transit of oil that Iran had effectively blocked during the war, remains open.

Ahead of his meetings in Pakistan, Pezeshkian cautioned that “the effectiveness of the talks depends on full commitment to the agreed obligations and their precise implementation.”

“Progress on this path will be measured by practical adherence to accepted responsibilities,” he wrote on X. “Statements outside the agreed text do not help advance the negotiations.”

Iran suggested the ongoing technical talks in Switzerland have led to the creation of specific negotiation groups, which include those focused on sanctions relief, nuclear issues, reconstruction and monitoring, according to a report by the state-run IRNA news agency.

It quoted Kazem Gharibabadi, a deputy foreign minister leading the technical talks, saying that the countries involved also formed a contact mechanism over ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz and over the fighting in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah.

It remains unclear whether the de-confliction cell being created will be enough to stop fighting between Hezbollah and Israel, which occupies part of Lebanon and insists it must maintain a free hand to attack militants who are launching attacks into northern Israel.

Mediators Pakistan and Qatar said the cell would include the Lebanese government and would “ensure the adherence of the termination of military operations in Lebanon,” but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raised new questions late Monday, saying his military still has “full freedom of action to thwart any direct or emerging threat to them or to the residents of the north.”

Neither Israel nor Hezbollah are signatories to the U.S.-Iran deal, and Netanyahu has vowed to keep his forces in southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing.

U.S. President Donald Trump later said “we’re going to take a look at it,” when asked about Netanyahu’s comments, adding that he wouldn’t say what action he would take but that the situation would “get solved.”

“I’m a problem solver, I get problems solved real fast, including with Bibi,” he said, using a nickname for Netanyahu.

At the moment, the renewed ceasefire in Lebanon, brokered on Saturday, appears to be holding with no new Israeli or Hezbollah strikes reported overnight.

Lebanon and Israel planned another round of direct talks in Washington on Tuesday, which are expected to focus on developing a plan for an Israeli withdrawal.

Rising reported from Bangkok. Ahmed from Islamabad. Associated Press writers Abby Sewell in Beirut and Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.

A man walks past a welcoming billboard featuring Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian along a roadside in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Vehicles drives past welcoming billboards featuring Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, right, with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, center, and Shehbaz Sharif alongside an overhead bridge in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

A man walks past a welcoming billboard featuring Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, center, with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, right, and Shehbaz Sharif along a roadside in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

The welcoming billboard, featuring Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, right, with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, center, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, is displayed alongside of an overhead bridge, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

A woman walks past a welcoming billboard featuring Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian along a roadside in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)