Burnham cements Labour leadership with backing of 349 MPs
Andy Burnham has been confirmed as the new leader of the Labor Party, with the party’s 349 MPs nominating him to replace Sir Keir Starmer.
After the second day of nominations, the Makerfield MP had the support of a further 27 Labor MPs, putting him on track to become prime minister on 20 July; it was now mathematically impossible for a rival to compete against him.
It currently needs the support of three Labor Party organisations; At least two of these must be union, but this is expected to be a formality.
The former mayor of Greater Manchester will answer questions from Labor MPs as the sole participant in the online vote on Monday evening.
It marks an extraordinary rise to power for a man who returned to Westminster just three weeks ago following his historic by-election victory in Makerfield.
In a statement on Thursday after receiving the backing of 322 MPs on the first day of nominations, Burnham said the support for her came from across the party and reflected a “shared belief that Britain needs a new approach to politics”.
“That’s the circuit breaker I’m pitching: power out of Westminster, a reformed economy for ordinary people and good growth in every postcode,” Burnham said.
Under Labor Party rules, leadership candidates must have 20 per cent of the party’s MPs (81 out of a total of 403 MPs) to be nominated. With 349 officially backing Burnham, no rival candidate will now be able to nominate.
Burnham’s byelection victory and Labour’s heavy losses in May’s local elections left Sir Keir facing calls from his own MPs to step aside and allow Burnham to replace him.
Sir Keir stepped down as Labor leader on the same day Burnham was sworn in as MP.
Burnham had previously run twice to become Labor leader, in 2010 and 2015; He lost to Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn respectively.
This time he ran unopposed and his path to No 10 will not require voting among party members and affiliated union supporters over the summer.
Sir Keir’s former health secretary Wes Streeting was seen as a possible rival but endorsed Burnham shortly after the prime minister’s resignation.
Former Defense Secretary Al Carns, who resigned from the government following a dispute over the military’s funding plan, was seen as Burnham’s most likely opponent but removed himself from the fray last Wednesday.
Burnham has faced calls from some within the Labor Party to provide more detail about the policies he will seek to implement in government.
The 56-year-old actor left Westminster in 2017 to run for mayor of Greater Manchester. He was elected three times.
But this means opportunities to build strong relationships with MPs elected since 2017, who make up the bulk of the Parliamentary Labor Party, are limited.
He has also been accused of avoiding media scrutiny since announcing his intention to succeed Sir Keir. He did not take questions from journalists after the speeches and has so far only given an interview to Andrew Marr on LBC.
Burnham’s approach to social media is also a central part of his team’s strategy. The former Greater Manchester mayor frequently posts videos outlining policy areas and also hosted an online Q&A session for Reddit users.
