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Sir Keir Starmer met Andy Burnham for talks earlier on Tuesday, as he seeks to ensure an “orderly” transition of power after announcing he is standing down as prime minister.<\/b><\/p>\n
It is the first time the pair have met since Burnham won last week’s Makerfield by-election. <\/p>\n
The hour-long meeting, which was first reported in the Times, external<\/span><\/a>, comes as Sir Keir authorised access talks with civil servants for prospective Labour leadership candidates to prepare them for government.<\/p>\n Burnham is the only candidate to have emerged so far and if he does not face a challenger he could become prime minister as early as 17 July.<\/p>\n One ally of Burnham has said, as first reported by the Financial Times, external<\/span><\/a>, that if the Makerfield MP does become prime minister, he is expected to offer Rachel Reeves, the currennt chancellor, a junior or mid-level cabinet position. <\/p>\n The ally told the BBC: “Andy really respects Rachel and I’m confident he’ll want her in his top team.” <\/p>\n A spokesperson for Burnham said no decisions had been made. Reeves’ team has been contacted for a comment. <\/p>\n It is unclear who would replace Reeves as chancellor, with Ed Miliband, Wes Streeting, John Healey and Yvette Cooper among the names mooted.<\/a><\/p>\n Burnham is also expected to appoint former Labour cabinet minister James Purnell as his Downing Street chief of staff, according to two close allies of the Makerfield MP.<\/p>\n Purnell served as culture secretary and work and pensions secretary under Gordon Brown between 2007 and 2009.<\/p>\n After quitting as an MP in Greater Manchester in 2010, he worked as a senior BBC executive, university vice-chancellor and more recently has been the chief executive of a lobbying and strategy company, Flint Global.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n