ANDY BURNHAM would keep Sir Keir Starmer’s government’s fiscal rules when he takes over as prime minister, Housing Secretary Steve Reed suggested on Sunday.

The key Starmer ally said that the new Makerfield MP would introduce “changes in emphasis” but stick to the “fundamentals.” 

Mr Reed, who cautioned against replacing Sir Keir as recently as last month, told Sky News that Labour would stand “four-square behind Andy to deliver the change this country voted for two years ago.

“The public do not want a general election, and that’s not just my instinct,” he insisted. “You can look at the polls that tell us the vast majority do not. They want us to get on with the job,” he said.

Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell said that Mr Burnham had built up a “clear sense of purpose” and insisted people wanted the party to “get on with the job” rather than go to the country.