Sir Keir appeared to acknowledge that his successor is almost certain to be Burnham, although at other times he made reference to “whoever my successor is” and said there was “a little bit of process to go”.
He said he had “never had any personal animosity” towards the former Greater Manchester mayor and that he would “do everything I possibly can to make sure” that the next government succeeds.
Sir Keir committed to remaining an MP until at least the next election but said he would be “keeping my mouth shut, rather than giving constant advice to my successor about what they should be doing”.
He made clear that he sees his four years as Labour leader in opposition as “absolutely core” to his legacy.
Describing Labour when he became leader as “politically, financially and morally bankrupt”, he said it had been “hard and bloody work”.
Sir Keir said that in electoral terms his success should sit alongside Clement Attlee’s victory in 1945 and Sir Tony Blair’s in 1997.
He added: “The Labour Party arguably could have been lost, but I stepped up as leader and with others we saved the Labour Party”.
But he said he had been ousted because Labour MPs no longer believed he was “the right person to take us into the next election”.
