Burnham starts lurching Britain leftwards with Labour ‘coronation’ speech rant about the evils of capitalism with a vow to return the country to 1970s

Andy Burnham was officially crowned Labor leader today and immediately moved left, blaming Margaret Thatcher and capitalism for the country’s problems.

The Makerfield MP was announced as the winner of the bizarre single-candidate contest at an event held at TUC headquarters in London.

Mr Burnham, who ditched his trademark black T-shirt for a suit and tie, watched by fawning cabinet ministers, recalled a time before the ‘wrong turns’ of the 1980s.

He promised nationalization and greater public control, telling activists he would stop wearing ‘Tory clothes’ and return to the ‘real Labor Party’ to ‘dismantle’ Reform.

Mr Burnham said the movement was ‘forged in steel mills and shipyards’ and was committed to ending ‘Neoliberalism’, a vague term often used on the Left to condemn capitalism.

Despite a concerted effort to oust Keir Starmer, Mr Burnham enthusiastically praised his absent predecessor’s ‘service to our party and our country’.

But Mr Burnham, who will officially replace Sir Keir as Prime Minister on Monday, still did not accept any questions from the media.

Instead, she posts soft-soapy social media clips in which she talks about how much she loves her tea, whether she wears socks with sandals, and her disapproval of Yorkshire puddings for Christmas dinner.

Mr Burnham became Labor leader weeks after returning to the House of Commons in a by-election, following a symbolic process in which he was nominated by almost 95 per cent of MPs.

He did not join Labour’s 2024 manifesto and the 25,000 voters in Makerfield who supported him represent just 0.05 per cent of the British electorate.

Graham Stringer, one of the few backbenchers who did not support him, said he did not want to sign a ‘blank cheque’ and warned the former Mayor of Manchester needed to be more forthright about his intentions.

On another dramatic day in British politics:

• Mr Burnham hinted he would spend ‘quite a lot of political capital’ on social care reforms after previously backing a ‘death tax’ burden on inheritances;
• His close ally, Liverpool Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram, dropped another strong hint at a ‘wealth tax’, arguing that it should aim to increase spending for a ‘sector or area’;
• A Survation poll found Labor and Reform neck-and-neck in support; the party has not fallen behind Nigel Farage’s team for the first time since April last year;
• Sir Keir did not attend the official confirmation of his successor after paying a farewell visit to Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev yesterday;
• As preparations for the handover continued, transport trucks were seen outside Downing Street;
• Wes Streeting has denied the bizarre claim that Mr Burnham was seen in tears near the Parliamentary office.

Mr Burnham was accompanied by his wife Marie-France as his appointment was announced at TUC headquarters

The Makerfield MP was announced as the winner of a bizarre single-candidate contest watched by fawning Cabinet ministers at an event in London.

Ms Powell introduces Mr Burnham by admitting the contest is not a ‘nail biter’

Mr Burnham said ‘political power was centralized and economic power was privatized’ when Margaret Thatcher was prime minister

Transport trucks seen outside Downing Street as handover preparations continue

Staff were packing boxes ready for Sir Keir and his family to move in shortly.

In his speech at this luncheon he promised to ‘unashamedly stand with Labor on our priorities and the decisions we make’.

He said his government would have ‘the courage to fix the great things that politics has neglected’ and the ‘conviction to defend our plans’.

Mr Burnham insisted Britain took ‘a series of wrong paths’ in the 1980s, during which ‘political power was centralized and economic power was privatised’.

He said making the economy work for people in the UK would require ‘a new path to the one we’ve been on for the last 40 years’.

Mr Burnham added: ‘This country is not suitable for working-class communities like the city where I was born.

‘He actually turned his back on them. Political power was used ruthlessly against them to protect vested interests.

‘Economic power was ruthlessly destroyed, as it was in much of the country, by deindustrialization in the 1980s.

‘Change starts with honesty. ‘We must recognize that this generation of politicians, myself included, have failed to challenge a political culture and economic model that does not work well enough for ordinary people.’

Mr Burnham said he would not seek to ‘leave the Greens behind’ or move to the Right to ward off the threat of Reform, but instead insisted the party could be ‘truly Labour’.

Attacking the ‘right’, he said: ‘I want people to understand the thinking behind the political direction I have taken, so people can see the decisions we make and the reasons for them. I make this clear: Britain took a series of wrong turns in the 1980s. Political power was centralized and economic power was privatized.

‘The country has surrendered control of basic needs (housing, water, energy, transport) and left people facing higher costs. This led to more wealth and power being concentrated in the hands of fewer people and fewer places. ‘Large parts of Britain have been deindustrialised without the power to set new targets for themselves.’

He added: ‘Slowly, at times imperceptibly, over forty years political and economic power has been withdrawn from our communities in every region and country of the UK.

‘If local places don’t control something as simple as a bus service, how can they connect people to opportunities and turn things around?

‘If the sale of social housing forces the country to chase rents in the private rented sector through the welfare system and pay for temporary accommodation for thousands of families, as they have to do here in London and elsewhere in the country, then how do we find the money to invest in prevention and improving people’s lives? The truth is we can’t do this.’

Mr Burnham also questioned how the country could control inflation, public spending and the rest of the economy without public control over the cost of essential goods, adding: ‘The Right used the phrase ‘take back control’, but they were the ones who gave it away in the first place.’

Mr Burnham entered in his capacity as chairman of Labour’s ruling NEC, accompanied by Ms Powell (centre right) and Shabana Mahmood (centre left).

Mr Burnham shakes hands with former leader Neil Kinnock, whom he praised during his speech

The Survation poll found Labor and Reform neck-and-neck in support; party falls behind Nigel Farage’s team for first time since April last year

Mr Burnham insisted that ‘factionalism has bedeviled us’ and that ‘today we have moved beyond that’, despite clearly returning to unseat Sir Keir in the by-election.

He said: ‘I have supported all our Labor leaders throughout my life because I believe a united Labor Party and Labor movement is the best hope for our country.’

Mr Burnham, who had previously prepared his confirmation, stated that he would ‘put power back where it belongs’ in X.

‘The next few days will be about more than changing who runs Britain. ‘They are about changing the way Britain is governed,’ he wrote.

Mr Burnham It was supported by 369 of the party’s 403 MPs, far exceeding the required 81 MPs, and received the support of eight of the 11 unions affiliated with the party.

He steps into office at a time when his party has lagged behind Reform England in opinion polls for nearly 18 months and Labor hopes his presence will create a bounce-back and turn its fortunes around.

Sir Keir said he would have won the next general election had he not been sacked but was “proud to hand the party over in good order” to his successor.

But there is no clarity on Mr Burnham’s policies or how they might differ from Sir Keir’s agenda.

Business and unions were alarmed by the idea of ​​making ‘Red’ Ed Miliband Chancellor; This possibility seems to have now receded.

Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood, who declared Mr Burnham’s victory as chair of the ruling NEC, is being tipped for the crucial role.

Mr Burnham, a Cabinet minister under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, failed two leadership bids before leaving Westminster and becoming Mayor of Manchester.

Mr Burnham says he will be ‘unashamedly Labour’ in his approach as party leader

Businesses and unions alarmed by the idea of ​​’Red’ Ed Miliband being appointed as Chancellor – a prospect that now appears to have receded

Mr Burnham’s He said he would stick to Rachel Reeves’ fiscal rules and manifesto commitments not to increase income tax, VAT or National Insurance, but refused to rule out a wealth tax in an interview this week.

The Liberal Democrats have called on him in his first weeks as prime minister to overhaul the water industry and immediately place Thames Water into a special management regime.

Mr Burnham has nominated Matthew McGregor, who works on elections in the UK and abroad and is currently chief executive of campaign group 38 Degrees, as director of political strategy at No 10.