Reeves tells Burnham to expect ‘shocks and challenges’ from outset in No 10

Chancellor says PM-in-waiting needs ‘worked through plan’, in what could be one of her final interviews in No 11 Rachel Reeves has urged Andy Burnham to arrive in Downing Street with a “worked through plan”, saying the incoming prime minister will be tested quickly by a range of incoming “shocks and challenges”. In what could be one of the first female chancellor’s final major interviews while in No 11, Reeves said Burnham should remain focused on the priorities that first brought him into politics. Burnham’s bid to become Labour leader and prime minister has been backed by 322 of the party’s 403 MPs, leaving him just one short of the number required to make it mathematically impossible for a rival to compete against him. If no one else enters the contest, he will expect to become Labour leader on 17 July and the prime minister the next working day – 20 July. Speaking to BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Reeves said: “It is important that when Andy walks through that door he has a worked-through plan, because governing is hard in Britain, and lots of challenges and shocks will come his way.” Burnham has already begun setting out his vision and bluepr