Former armed forces minister Al Carns has refused to rule out running against Andy Burnham to replace Sir Keir Starmer as Labour leader, saying he needs to hear his plans for the country before deciding.

In an in-depth interview with Gloria De Piero on GB News, Carns outlined what a prospective new leader would need to say: “Whoever is going to lead the country, tell me what you want it to be in…2029 and 2034.

“Just be really, really clear in the objectives that you want to get to, the outcomes that you want this country to be. What’s the vision?”

Asked outright if he was really planning on not standing, Carns said: “The reality is this is about Labour MPs’ decision on who they want to run, that will be based on what they think [of] the policy objectives and the policy platform they’re running on.

“We’re going to see that next week, Andy Burnham – I think we’ve got an economic speech coming out this Tuesday. It’d be really interesting to see that. That will give us a really good gauge.

“What I would like to see is a multitude of different ideas inculcated into that. I want to know what national security and foreign policy we’re moving off on. I want to know our economic policy.

“I want to know how we’re getting after everything from welfare to how we get people back into work, how we give those areas of the country that have been left behind a hand up, not a hand out to get back into work, so I really want to see these ideas moving and moving in the right direction.

“I particularly want to see the passion and drive and the courageous, bold decision-making that needs to take place over the next three years to get us into the right place by 2029.”

Asked if he would serve in a Burnham administration, he said: “Sounds like I’m boring you and your viewers, but it goes back to Andy Burnham as an individual…give me the policy platform, give me the vision for the country, and if he has the inspiration, the drive, and the courageous sort of bold nature to move this forward, then I will wave the flag, jump on a bandwagon, and move hell for leather to deliver for him.”

He added: “I’ve always been really clear and I said this right at the very [start]…I think my first interview coming into the political spaces, I support the policies that will make this country great, not necessarily the people, this is about the actual policy platform that sits under him and his ability to drive it forward.”

On Labour as a patriotic party, he said: “There are amazing MPs across all sides of the House, but the Labour Party in particular, as I’ve got to know it in the last two years, are really, really impressive individuals, and they want nothing other than the best for this country.

“They want the best for their constituents, and they want the best for the country. Now, that takes different machinations and different views, and that’s good, healthy debate, but the reality is you don’t go into politics if you don’t believe in this country.

“I understand the sort of bad rep politicians get. I do get that, but on the same hand, I’ve been absolutely inspired by some of the people in politics moving the dial on the things they really care about. That may be a relatively factional issue, it may be all the way through to a major economic or major policy issue, but it’s really impressive.”

Carns said Burnham should have his views on the long-delayed Defence Investment Plan taken into account: “Let’s be really, really clear, because we have delayed the defence investment plan for so long. There have been a multitude of issues, whether it be with industry, whether it be with getting the capability into the right systems, getting the programmes up and running.

“There’s a fine balance between delaying it further, but also giving the new Prime Minister the ability to put his eye, her eye, scrutiny over it, and make sure it’s fit for purpose. I’ve always been really clear on this. If it’s transformative enough, takes those lessons from Ukraine, integration and treats this defence issue as a much broader resilience task, and if it has the right financial envelope, then it will probably be good to go.

“Dan Jarvis is a really good man, he’s got good background in the Parachute Regiment, he’s a top quality operator back in the day, so he knows what he’s talking about. We just got to force the system, and sometimes that system doesn’t want change for a variety of reasons. We’ve got to force and drive and almost fight the system to get the change required.

“I personally believe that will be down to Dan Jarvis, the Prime Minister, and the future Prime Minister, whoever that may be.”