New Delhi, June 29 -- MANCHESTER - Andy Burnham spoke at the People's History Museum on Saturday not quite as a candidate but already something closer to a prime minister in waiting, and the distinction was not lost on anyone who has watched the Labour Party spend the previous six days canvassing the field and finding it empty.

Keir Starmer resigned June 22, three weeks after local elections delivered the worst results for a governing party in recent British political memory. Wes Streeting, the health secretary whose profile had made him the natural leadership alternative, stood aside and endorsed Burnham. Bridget Phillipson declined. Pat McFadden declined. Al Carns, the defence minister who resigned in June, has not ruled out a run - bu...