The Labour Party has set out the timetable for the contest to choose its new leader, a figure who would also go on to become the country's next Prime Minister. According to the report, the party's National Executive Committee met in the afternoon to confirm the process, and Andy Burnham is seen as the frontrunner, with the report noting he could be announced as Labour leader before the World Cup is over.
The first formal step in the process is the opening of nominations. According to the report, candidates will be able to put their names forward from July 9th, and to make it onto the ballot they will need the support of 20% of the Labour grouping in the House of Commons, which the report explains works out at a minimum of 81 MPs backing their bid.
From there, the contest moves into a stage where the membership becomes involved. According to the report, hustings are scheduled for July 13th, giving party members the chance to question those who have said they will run, before the window for nominations closes two days later, on the 15th, drawing a line under who is formally in the race.
Once that stage is complete, the wider Labour movement is brought into the process. According to the report, after the nomination window closes the affiliated trade unions and other organisations linked to the party take part in the next phase of the contest, reflecting the structure through which Labour selects a new leader from among the confirmed candidates.
The report sets the contest against the backdrop of an unusually pressured transition. According to the report, periods like this are difficult ones in which to govern, with discipline tending to break down and serious decisions often put off, which is why there is an interest in keeping the gap as short as possible while the change at the top is completed.
At the same time, the speed of the process carries its own challenge for whoever wins. According to the report, a very short period between winning a seat and arriving in office leaves little time to plan, with the eventual winner facing only a matter of weeks to prepare, as the civil service begins the standard work of readying itself to support the next Prime Minister.
Further detail has since set out how the contest could resolve. According to the report, if Andy Burnham is the only candidate to put his name forward and secure the required backing, which includes the support of three affiliated organisations and at least two unions, he would automatically become leader and prime minister, with that outcome announced on July 17th and potentially making him prime minister in around 22 days. If someone else enters the race and gains enough nominations, the report says there would instead be a summer of debates and hustings, with the eventual winner announced on August 29th before Parliament returns in September, and for now Burnham is the only person who has said he will stand.