What’s happening in Westminster today

It’s all about Andy Burnham. My read is that his first week has been a carefully choreographed media blitz designed to project energy and a new style of government. He’s working from the new No 10 North, with the Chancellor joining him, and has revived an economic council with regional mayors, all intended to show power is being shared (per the Guardian). The lobby is chewing over the retail politics of it all, from cheaper bus fares to his TikTok presence. While Jonathan Freedland sees a potentially transformational premiership, Simon Jenkins warns he risks acting like the "mayor of everywhere". The Guardian reports he's considering an exemption for existing care workers from tough new immigration rules, but his new Housing Secretary Angela Rayner has already ruled out rent controls, per the BBC. The reshuffle fallout is still live. The Guardian has details of Keir Starmer’s leaving party, noting "a lot of anger" and that his sacked allies are now thinking about how to "cooperate in future". That detail will not have been missed. It adds context to Harriet Harman’s public advice, reported by Sky, that Burnham needs to "build bridges" with the Starmerites he removed. Elsewhere, Reform is briefing its councillors to call the donations inquiry an "establishment stitch-up", according to the Guardian. It’s a sign of the messaging war to come. For now, though, all eyes are on the new PM.

Westminster is dominated by a formal, if not yet actual, transition of power. The passage of the Hillsborough Law provided the stage for a symbolic handover, with the Guardian calling it a moment that encapsulates what Andy Burnham says his government will be about. While the outgoing PM Keir Starmer collected a top French honour, the "PM-in-waiting" was busy. Burnham has called for a review of MP security, per the BBC, after Ann Widdecombe's death, saying politics has "darkened". That view is shared across the house, with MPs telling the Guardian that death threats are a daily reality. The advice and demands are already piling up for Burnham. Tony Blair has told him not to expect to be popular. Ed Davey is urging him to change the voting system. A new squad of Labour MPs wants a target for one million new jobs. And Pat McFadden is signalling a shift on welfare, saying Labour must stop "simply writing a cheque" for claimants. Meanwhile, the Tories are in a different place entirely. A bid to force Burnham to face MPs before the summer failed, but the real action is internal. The Guardian has a brutal take on Kemi Badenoch, claiming she has declared "war on net zero" in an ideological purge that is pushing the party towards "political extinction".

It’s all Burnham, all the time. The leadership is a done deal. With the backing of 349 MPs, per the

Morning all. A truly grim and sombre mood across the estate today following the horrific news about Ann Widdecombe. The lobby is obviously consumed by it, but

A truly shocking and sombre mood has descended on the bubble today. The news that Ann Widdecombe’s death is now a murder investigation, with an arrest

Morning all. The big story, of course, is the Burnham ascendancy. It’s a full-blown coronation, not a contest, with the BBC

Good morning. It’s all about one man today: Nigel Farage. The lobby is in a feeding frenzy over his resignation and his decision to trigger a

Good morning. All eyes, inevitably, are on Nigel Farage. His decision to resign and immediately stand again in a Clacton by-election is being

Morning all. The bubble is completely consumed by one story today: Nigel Farage. The scrutiny over his finances and relationship with convicted fraudster George Cottrell is

Good morning. All eyes are, of course, on the transition. While Keir Starmer has given his first, candid interview on the ‘

Good morning. The post-Starmer era is taking shape fast, and the lobby is entirely focused on the incoming Burnham administration. Keir Starmer

Morning all. It’s all about the transition today. The outgoing PM is doing his farewell tour, with Keir Starmer giving candid interviews to

Let's be honest about what's dominating the corridors today: it's all Burnham, all the time. The Makerfield MP is being written up as a "PM-in-waiting" across the board, and the lobby is treating his ascent as something close to inevitable — he's meeting trade union leaders, floating a "No 10 North" in Manchester, promising to ease cost-of-living pressures via business rates and rent freezes, and even hinting at his defence funding plans. Speculation swirls about his chancellor, with the BBC noting union conversations may touch on exactly that. Treat all of this as speculation, mind — nominations haven't even opened, which is precisely the problem. Because the party-management tremors are real. Labour bosses have reportedly warned the NEC that a Burnham "coronation" — complete with an Everton stadium launch before the contest formally begins — will anger members. And there's a pointed gender flank opening up: Labour women are telling Burnham half the government should be female, and Sky and the BBC are both asking whether women get "a seat at Andy's table." Angela Rayner, notably, has offered warm words for his devolution "vision." Meanwhile Starmer's premiership is being written in the past tense — John Crace has him "dreaming of the World Cup" on his way out, and Morgan McSweeney, in his first-ever interview, concedes Labour "failed to prepare for power." Genuine government business hasn't stopped: Shabana Mahmood has accepted "fundamental failures" over Southport, Lisa Nandy has quit X, and Starmer delivered the forced-adoptions apology. But the weather is unmistakably Burnham's.