Carns's said a leadership contest was "not the best use of Labour's time" and "we need to get on board" with Burnham.

Former Defence Minister Al Carns has said he will not stand for the Labour leadership and urged his party to get behind Andy Burnham. He told Sky News a leadership contest was "not the best use of Labour's time" and in his view "we need to get on board" with Burnham. Carns's decision means Burnham is the only Labour MP who has declared his intention to bid for the Labour leadership, following Sir Keir Starmer's resignation as prime minister last month. Earlier this week, Carns had said he could not support Burnham until he had seen more detail about his plan for government. But Carns said after speaking with Burnham on Tuesday, he had concluded the Makerfield MP would "make the right decisions and move the country forward". Burnham is widely expected to be the next Labour leader and prime minister later this month. The process to elect a new Labour leader starts on Thursday, when the window for MPs to nominate candidates opens. Leadership candidates need nominations from 20% of the party's MPs - 81 - to be eligible.