Andy Burnham (Almost) Wins

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Today, Andy Burnham's Labour leadership bid has been backed by 322 Labour MPs. If no one else enters the contest, as expected, Burnham will be declared Labour leader next week before taking office as prime minister on 20 July. Burnham is currently just one short of securing 323 nominations, which is when it is mathematically impossible for a rival to reach the 81-MP threshold needed to run against him. Adam and Chris discuss. An interim review of Personal Independence Payments (Pip) in England and Wales had found it to be "not fit for purpose". Last year, the UK government asked Sir Stephen Timms to review whether Pip was "fair and fit for the future". His initial report is being published on Thursday ahead of the final recommendations due in the autumn.Adam and Alex discuss with Ben Chu Policy and Analysis Correspondent, BBC Verify You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscord Get in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480. New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Gabriel Purcell-Davis. The social producer was Joe Wilkinson. The technical producer was Jonathan Greer. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.