Andy Burnham latest: Prime minister-in-waiting to pledge to be ‘unashamedly Labour’ when he becomes party leader

Andy Burnham will further strengthen his pledge to roll back Margaret Thatcher’s economic deal when he makes his first speech as Labor leader on Friday.

The former mayor of Manchester will be confirmed unopposed to replace Sir Keir Starmer at a special conference in London after receiving nominations from almost all MPs.

With the support of 81 MPs to be nominated for the race, only Catherine West MP Neil Coyle received a nomination, while the remaining 26 MPs backed Mr Burnham.

The New Labor leader will warn that Britain took a series of wrong paths in the 1980s when “political power was centralized and economic power was privatised”.

To build an economy and country that works for all people and places, Mr Burnham will say this requires “a new path to the one we have been on for the last 40 years”.

Below is the full story from The Independent’s political editor David Maddox:

Today is that day; Andy Burnham will replace Sir Keir Starmer as leader of the Labor Party.

The former Greater Manchester mayor won the support of 349 Labor MPs earlier this week; This means it is impossible for another candidate to win the 81 confirmations needed to challenge the Labor leadership.

Transport union TSSA, Aslef, Community, GMB, Unison, Fire Brigade Union, Unite and trades union Usdaw also backed him.

This means a smooth transfer of power is expected during a special Labor Party conference in London at noon.

In his opening speech, he is expected to put forward an argument for his policies, which he says will be “unashamedly Labour”.

This will be the biggest day of the Makerfield MP’s political life until Monday, when he will be sworn in as prime minister.

Andy Burnham will take over as leader of the Labor Party on Friday but will have to wait a few more days before becoming prime minister.

He will officially become Labor leader over the weekend, but Sir Keir Starmer will technically continue to lead the country.

He will then travel to Buckingham Palace on Monday to formally tender his resignation to the King and recommend Mr Burnham as his successor.

Mr Burnham will then be crowned prime minister on Monday afternoon.

Political editor David Maddox examines whether Andy Burnham will bring back one or both Miliband brothers, or whether history could repeat itself with one losing a top job at the expense of the other.

Andy Burnham said he would not be afraid to disagree with American president Donald Trump, adding that he would try to “meet him where he is” by “respecting the office”.

The future prime minister told Gary Lineker in an interview with Goalhanger: “Maybe, as I just described, I’ll meet him where he’s at. And, you know, I like to think I’ve got a personality too, and you know, I’ll deal with him in the same way, very openly. I think he likes people to take care of him.”

“When he was talking about my position he described Manchester as a town. And I might have to do that too, you know how the Manchesters are, Gary, that wouldn’t go down well in the city I represent.

“But yeah, you know, it’s about being yourself, right? It’s about respecting the office, the relationship, the UK-US relationship. But you know, when you disagree, do that, but do it in a way that meets him where he is.”

Sir Tony Blair warned Andy Burnham about entering No 10 on a wave of popularity, saying he would tell himself after Labour’s landslide victory in 1997: “You may think you’ll be loved, but you won’t.”

In a frank discussion with comedian Matt Forde at the Tony Blair Institute’s (TBI) summer drinks reception at the National Theater in London, the former prime minister also said Mr Burnham should maintain a strong relationship with the US “regardless of who is the president” because of the Russian threat of an invasion of Europe.

And he warned Mr Burnham against continuing with energy secretary Ed Miliband’s net zero policies.

But arguably his biggest advice was “you won’t be loved.”

You can read the full story below:

The Reform mayoral candidate falsely claimed Andy Burnham had not built any social housing in Manchester during his nine years as mayor.

Sian Astley, who is in the running to become the next Greater Manchester to replace Mr Burnham, who has resigned as MP, told the Reform UK podcast on July 6, 2026: “I think there are over 20,000 households on the Manchester housing register and they haven’t been building social housing for decades.”

Podcast host Ray Addison responded: “Obviously, he’s been mayor of Manchester for 10 years. One would have thought he would have made a little more progress on that.”

But official government figures analyzed by The Independent show thousands of social and affordable homes were built across the region during Mr Burnham’s tenure.

Wes Streeting has dismissed rumors that Andy Burnham was seen “crying in a lift” near the Parliamentary office as “outlandish speculation”.

Mr Streeting, who resigned as health secretary after saying he had lost faith in Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership, wrote about X: Of all the outlandish speculation I’ve read in recent days, this is the best.

“I wasn’t even there, let alone involved

“I hope my doppelganger is okay.”