Burnham to promise new path for UK when he becomes new Labour leader

Andy Burnham will promise a new way forward for Britain in his speech later on Friday as he is confirmed as the new leader of the Labor Party.

He will then take over as prime minister from Sir Keir Starmer on Monday.

Burnham will address a special party conference in central London, saying that while in Downing Street the government will “unashamedly stand with Labor on our priorities” and have “the courage to fix the big things that politics has neglected”.

Makerfield MP Burnham cemented her status as the sole leadership candidate after being backed by 379 Labor MPs and most party-affiliated unions earlier this week.

Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood, as chair of Labour’s ruling national executive committee, will announce Burnham as the new leader at the conference.

It will mark the former Greater Manchester mayor’s rapid rise to power following his by-election victory in Makerfield last month.

Labor has been lagging behind Reform England in opinion polls for almost 18 months and its supporters hope Burnham’s arrival as prime minister will reverse their fortunes.

Burnham gave little detail about her policy plans and did not announce who would be appointed to key cabinet posts.

Announcements about cabinet posts are not expected to be made until Monday, when Burnham takes up her post in No 10.

But multiple reports suggest Burnham could choose Mahmood as chancellor, and the BBC was told there were “lively discussions” on the issue.

In her first speech as Labor leader on Monday, Burnham will say making the economy work for people in the UK will require “a new path to the one we’ve been on for the last 40 years”.

When he becomes prime minister, he will also say his Labor government will “focus on stimulating growth in every postcode and returning power to communities”.

And he will say that the government will have the “conviction to defend our plans.”

Promising a “distinctive Labour” program of economic policy, Burnham will say his plans include greater public control of public services such as water and re-industrialisation.

He said Labor would be more united under his leadership and more open to working with other parties on the long-term challenges facing the country.

He will pledge to be a leader “for north and south, for Scotland, for Wales and Northern Ireland, and for every town and every city in every nation and region of this great country.”

He will also express his gratitude to Sir Keir for winning the general election in 2024 and point to NHS improvements and investment in public services as the Labor government’s achievements so far.

Sir Keir resigns Last month he said he accepted that as Labor leader he was not in the best position to lead his party into the next general election.

Labour’s heavy losses in May’s local elections, followed by Burnham’s byelection victory in Makerfield, had left Sir Keir facing widespread calls from his own MPs to step aside and allow Burnham to replace him.

When potential leadership candidates former health minister Wes Streeting and former defense minister Al Carns said they would not challenge Burnham, it paved the way for her to become the next unopposed prime minister.

Sir Keir said he would support his successor and advise him privately if requested.

Speaking to Sky News during a visit to Ukraine on Thursday, he said he wanted an “orderly transition” and that he had built a “sound foundation” for Burnham.

But there were questions about Burnham’s uncontested route to No.10.

Last month, Labor Rugby MP John Slinger told the BBC: “I think the public out there would think we were a bit out of our minds if we didn’t go through a completely normal process of vetting people who are running for the highest office in the land.”

He has also been accused of avoiding media scrutiny since becoming an MP and announcing his intention to become Labor leader.

He has already given interviews to LBC and Gary Lineker, as well as hosting an online Q&A session on Reddit.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch challenged Burnham during the Q&A to “come out of hiding, face a proper press conference and submit herself to scrutiny and some tough questions”.

Burnham responded by saying it had only been two weeks since he faced questions from “74,000 members of the Makerfield community”.

On the policy front, Burnham gave some details about his mission plan in a speech in Manchester earlier this month.

It has proposed a new No 10 in Manchester, where a team would be tasked with giving the local authority greater control in areas such as housing and transport.

In a video posted on social media last night, reflecting on her own family’s experience of the social care system in England, she said: “If there’s one area I’m going to spend a lot of political capital on, it’s going to be social care.”

In the first weeks of his premiership Burnham plans to organize a ‘listening tour’ While the British Parliament is in recess this summer.

Burnham has signaled that providing extra support for living costs will be one of her priorities in government.

He defended his credibility on economic policy by insisting he would not be “undisciplined” on public finances.

But the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned Burnham’s new government to avoid increasing public spending in the face of pressures such as rising household energy bills.

Britain should try to focus on plans to grow the economy, the IMF said in a new report on the UK.

“This requires a cautious approach to new fiscal pressures: Authorities must be very selective in meeting new demands and resetting priorities while adhering to the deficit reduction plan,” the report says.

“Future spending reviews should focus on reallocating resources across departments rather than increasing overall spending.”