The governing Labour party has been accused of taking "unprecedented" action to prevent the incoming prime minister, Andy Burnham, from facing parliamentary scrutiny for at least six weeks after taking office. The Conservatives sought to delay the start of Parliament's summer recess by one sitting day to allow MPs to question Mr. Burnham on his policies upon becoming prime minister next Monday. However, Labour's Leader of the House of Commons, Alan Campbell, announced on Tuesday that the planned Opposition Day debate would instead focus on the conflict in Iran and a national security statutory instrument.
An Opposition Day is a parliamentary session where the Conservatives are guaranteed the right to debate a motion of their choosing. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, criticized Labour's decision to cancel the debate, stating that the party was "running scared" and knew that the "honeymoon will be over the minute he has to tell us his plans." Jesse Norman, the Conservative shadow leader of the House of Commons, called the move "a total humiliation and embarrassment for the Government," adding that the party could not trust its MPs to vote the right way on delaying the recess. Norman further asserted that the government could not bear the idea of a new prime minister facing scrutiny before September, especially one he characterized as chosen by "coronation not a contest, with no known platform, almost no known policies and no idea of his priorities or indeed his Cabinet team."
Norman suggested that the public would view the situation as "a man who is frit, running scared of public scrutiny before he can even take office." Sir Alan defended his decision, claiming he had not seen the specific wording of the Conservative motion and that the decision was made to prioritize discussing the "escalating and fast-moving situation in the Middle East." He stated that the government was not aware of the subject of the opposition's planned debate through "the usual channels" when the decision was made.
Mr. Burnham is expected to succeed Keir Starmer as prime minister on Monday, with MPs set to begin their recess on Thursday. Parliament is not scheduled to reconvene until September 1, meaning Mr. Burnham would not face the House of Commons for approximately 43 days into his premiership. Concerns have been raised about the mandate for his leadership and his avoidance of public questioning, noting that he recently concluded a major speech without taking media questions. Mr. Burnham has also ruled out calling a snap general election, a stance that contrasts with his previous demands for the Conservatives to hold an election when they changed leaders while in office. Mr. Burnham has secured the backing of at least 349 Labour MPs, making it mathematically impossible for any other candidate to challenge him for leadership.