Senior Labour figures say party is united behind Andy Burnham

“I’m pleased that actually what it looks like is we’re probably going to have just the one candidate in Andy Burnham,” Powell told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme.

“How refreshing that would be – that the whole Labour Party is agreed on the new leader and we don’t have to go through a contest that could be damaging at this point in time.

“Now we’ve all got to get behind that leader and stop the kind of infighting and chitter chatter from the background.”

Reed agreed the party was “going to move very swiftly to uniting behind Andy Burnham” without “turning inwards”, which he described as absolutely essential.

While a general election is not necessary to replace a prime minister, calling one is seen as a test of a new prime minister’s support among the public.

Powell was among then-opposition figures to call for a general election when the Conservatives forced Liz Truss out of office as prime minister in 2022.

But she denied that it was hypocritical that she did not want one to test a new Labour leader.

“I think we were in very particular times after Liz Truss crashed the economy,” she said, adding: “People want us to get on with the job and deliver the change they want to see.”

Reed, too, said this time was very different as the Tories had repeatedly changed leader while in government.

Reform UK’s Nigel Farage has called for an immediate general election, but the Conservatives have not.

Shadow housing secretary James Cleverly told Victoria Derbyshire, who was standing in for Kuenssberg, that a general election would delay key decisions, particularly on defence spending.

He said the Tories would be ready to fight a general election, adding: “I, of course, did not call for one when we changed leaders mid-term, but there is a job of work to be done and we should get on with it.”