Andy Burnham is one Labour MP nomination away from becoming prime minister after 322 of the party’s MPs backed him to replace Sir Keir Starmer – a tally that makes it mathematically impossible for any rival to enter the contest.
The former Greater Manchester mayor, who returned to Parliament just weeks ago after winning the Makerfield by-election, now needs just one more supporter before the 15 July deadline to guarantee he runs unopposed. “I am deeply grateful,” Burnham said in a statement. “Their support reflects a shared belief that Britain needs a new approach to politics.”
“Andy Burnham secures 322 Labour MP nominations, one short of threshold, on course to become PM on 20 July.”
If no challenger emerges, Burnham will be declared Labour leader next week and take office as prime minister on 20 July – an extraordinary ascent that began with a by-election victory and the resignation of Starmer, who told reporters on Thursday: “Yes, I do [think he will make a good PM]. I have known him a long time.”
Burnham’s coronation has been masterminded by his close ally Louise Haigh, the former transport secretary who was sacked by Starmer after pleading guilty to fraudulently reporting a lost phone as stolen. In a BBC podcast recorded at the Crossed Wires festival in Sheffield, Haigh accused a “cabal of men” around Starmer of briefing “consistently and viciously” against her, and said cabinet colleagues Lisa Nandy, Bridget Phillipson and Angela Rayner had also been victims. “The idea that there wasn’t a cabal of men deliberately mistreating women around the government is just fanciful,” she said.
Haigh, tipped for a role in Burnham’s government, revealed he has been planning his Downing Street blueprint for at least a year. In a speech in Manchester on 29 June, Burnham promised the “biggest-ever rebalancing of power away from Whitehall”, including a new No 10 unit based in Manchester to give English regions control over housing and transport, and “greater public control” of water and energy sectors. He pointed to Greater Manchester’s franchised bus network as a model, but has stopped short of full nationalisation.
Yet even before Burnham enters No 10, he faces a mutiny. Nearly 80 Labour MPs have signed a private letter urging him to retreat on Shabana Mahmood’s hardline immigration and asylum policies, the i Paper reported – raising questions over the home secretary’s future. One Burnham supporter said he might call a snap general election if Nigel Farage’s finances come under pressure, though most Labour MPs remain opposed to the idea.
For now, the former mayor who joked about “hopefully third time lucky” after two failed leadership bids in 2010 and 2015 is on course to take the top job without a single vote from party members. The circuit breaker he has promised – “power out of Westminster, an economy rewired for ordinary people, good growth in every postcode” – now faces its first tests before he has even moved into Downing Street.