𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Andy Burnham was accused of ‘running scared’ as he dodged the opportunity for MPs to question him. The former Greater Manchester mayor is set to become Prime Minister next week, but the House of Commons will start its summer break on Thursday, meaning the upcoming Labour leader will be spared for six weeks.

However, the Opposition Day debate was cancelled, declaring that more time is needed to discuss Iran instead. This means Mr Burnham will not answer any questions from MPs on his plans until September 1, when the summer break ends.

The move has faced significant backlash from in the Commons, with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch claiming that the prime minister-designate is scared.

She said: “In an unprecedented move, Labour have scrapped the Conservative vote to force Andy Burnham to come to Parliament to answer questions when he becomes PM on Monday.

“Labour are running scared because they know the honeymoon will be over the minute he has to tell us his plans.”

Leader of the House Sir Alan Campbell sparked outrage in the Commons when he said there would be a “general debate on Iran” instead of the debates, “followed by a motion to approve a statutory instrument relating to national security”.

Shadow Leader of the Commons Jesse Norman branded the move a “total humiliation and embarrassment for the Government”.

He added: “The Government changed the business and refused to delay the activity of this House by even one day to permit the Prime Minister, as he will be, to make a statement and to answer questions.

“Let me remind us all that the Prime Minister has been chosen by a coronation, not a contest, with no known platform, almost no known policies and no idea of his priorities or his Cabinet team.”

Mr Norman criticised Sir Keir Starmer’s exit and Andy’s upcoming leadership as the “worst possible exit for a Prime Minister” and “start for a new Prime Minister”.

He continued: “People across this country will see what has happened, and they will conclude that this is a man who is frit, running scared of public scrutiny.”

Sir Alan, in charge of Government organisation, claims that he had no idea that the Conservatives were planning to call for the summer break to be delayed.

MPs, including Liberal Democrats’ Bobby Dean, and Tories’ Katie Lam, made points that, despite knowing for weeks who the new Prime Minister will be, he has still somehow managed to escape “parliamentary scrutiny on his plans”.