Andy Burnham has been confirmed as the new Labour Party leader and UK PM-designate, who will replace outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, will take charge at 10 Downing Street next week.
Labour Party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) chair Shabana Mahmood made the announcement at a special party conference in London on Friday. “There was only one nominated MP… hardly a nail-biter,” she said.
Burnham will be invited by King Charles III to form a new government on Monday, after Starmer formally tenders his resignation to the British monarch.
The announcement was a forgone conclusion after he secured nominations from 379 of the 403 Labour lawmakers in the House of Commons as of Thursday night.
“We’re going to give them hope back. This is a proud moment you have given me and my family today, and an emotional one, but it is one for which I am ready,” Burnham said in his first speech as leader.
After winning a special election for a seat in Parliament a month ago, he pledged to build a politics “based on unity and hope” and an economy that spreads growth evenly across the country.
