Veteran politician Andy Burnham took a major step towards becoming the United Kingdom’s next prime minister on Thursday as nominations officially opened for the leadership contest to replace Keir Starmer as Labour Party leader.
The 56-year-old is currently the only Labour MP to have publicly announced his candidacy for the top party position after Starmer revealed last month that he would step down.
To officially enter the race, Burnham must secure nominations from 81 of Labour’s 402 MPs, a target he is widely expected to achieve. Attention is now focused on whether any rival candidate can gather enough support to challenge him.
Burnham, known as the “King of the North” after winning three consecutive elections as Greater Manchester mayor, is expected to become Labour leader — and the country’s next prime minister — if no challenger emerges. In that scenario, he would be confirmed at a special Labour conference on July 17 and take over at 10 Downing Street three days later.
If a contest takes place, the final result will be announced on August 29 after Labour members and affiliated unions vote.
Burnham’s chances strengthened further after former armed forces minister Al Carns ruled himself out of the leadership race on Wednesday. Carns said he wanted a contest to allow “a proper debate” but argued that prolonged internal party politics was not what the country needed.
“But months of internal Labour politics isn’t what the country needs right now. We’ve got to get on with the job,” he said, while backing Burnham.
In a major speech in June, Burnham promised to “bring about the biggest rebalancing of power our country has seen”. He said authority should be shifted “in the hands of the people and places who can use it best”.
“We need a new determination to raise the living standards of every single person in this land,” he added.
“And we must accept that to do that, to fix the economy and the country, we need to change politics and we need to do it now.”
Starmer announced his resignation on June 22 after months of pressure over policy reversals and criticism of his leadership, losing the backing of Labour MPs. His departure came shortly after Burnham won a by-election that allowed him to return to parliament and begin what had been widely anticipated as a leadership challenge.
Following Starmer’s resignation announcement, around 200 Labour MPs joined Burnham for a group photograph in Westminster, signalling strong support for his leadership bid. Former health secretary Wes Streeting also abandoned plans to run and endorsed Burnham.
Polls suggest Burnham is Labour’s most popular politician and is viewed as slightly more left-wing than the centrist Starmer. Several Labour MPs believe he could help the party regain support from Nigel Farage’s anti-immigration Reform UK ahead of the expected 2029 general election.
Although Reform has led Labour in national opinion polls for more than a year, the gap has narrowed recently.
Burnham has pledged to maintain fiscal discipline, reduce the country’s rising welfare costs, and follow existing government borrowing limits to reassure financial markets. He has also proposed establishing a “No. 10 North” office to coordinate greater regional devolution, referencing the prime minister’s official address at 10 Downing Street.
One Labour MP, speaking anonymously, said the party was right to “roll the dice” on Burnham, adding, “he couldn’t be worse than Starmer”.
“I hope he’s a breath of fresh air,” the lawmaker told AFP.
Another unnamed Labour MP backed Burnham but expressed concern that he would have only a few weeks to prepare for government if he takes over.
