No one now looks capable of stopping Andy Burnham.
Nominations to replace Keir Starmer as Labour leader opened on 9 July. Burnham is the only heavyweight name in the race.
His rivals are not fighting him. They are endorsing him.
Al Carns, the former defence minister and the last potential rival still being taken seriously at Westminster, ruled himself out on Wednesday night. He backed Burnham instead. "Andy Burnham's earned this and he's got my full backing," he said.
That is why this looks like a coronation, not a contest.
The mechanics still have to run. PLP nominations close on 15 July. Affiliate nominations close on 16 July. A candidate needs backing from 20 per cent of Labour MPs, at least 80 of them. Burnham is expected to clear that easily.
If he is the only valid candidate, a special conference confirms him as leader on 17 July.
Becoming prime minister is a separate step. Starmer resigned on 22 June after losing his own MPs' confidence, two years into government. Once Labour has a leader, the King appoints whoever can command a Commons majority.
That is expected to be Burnham around 20 July.
The palace does not crown him. He inherits Starmer's majority.
Constitutionally normal. Politically awkward.
Britain may get a new prime minister with no general election and no real leadership contest. Voters are not being asked. Labour members may barely be asked. The real decision appears to have been made by MPs before the race properly began.
The path was cleared three weeks ago. Burnham won the Makerfield by-election on 18 June. A Labour hold, roughly 55 per cent of the vote, with a majority of 9,231. It put him back in the Commons for the first time since 2017.
He is 56. He won Greater Manchester three times.
He is one party conference away from Downing Street. No real contest is standing in his way.