Andy Burnham appears set to become Britain’s next prime minister, after Labour MPs moved swiftly to line up behind the politician widely known as the “King of the North”.
A total of 322 Labour MPs — close to 80 per cent of the party’s Commons representation — have nominated Mr Burnham to succeed Keir Starmer, it was confirmed tonight.
The scale of support leaves Mr Burnham, described by some supporters as the party’s “messiah”, all but certain to enter Downing Street on 20 July, despite lingering questions over his national mandate and the limited detail so far offered on his policy agenda.
The Makerfield MP is now heading toward what critics and observers are calling a “coronation”, with a full Labour leadership race effectively avoided.
He requires only one additional nomination to make it mathematically impossible for any rival to secure the 81 MP backers needed to stand and trigger a ballot of the wider Labour membership.
However, Labour convention holds that the departing leader — in this instance Sir Keir — does not endorse a candidate, meaning there are effectively no longer enough undeclared MPs available to support an alternative bid.
No other Labour MP has publicly indicated they are weighing a leadership challenge, after former defence minister Al Carns, seen as Mr Burnham’s final possible opponent, abandoned the idea on Wednesday night.
The absence of a serious challenger to Mr Burnham, who returned to Westminster after winning last month’s Makerfield by-election, has intensified concerns among some about the democratic mandate of the incoming prime minister.
Andy Burnham is on the verge of being crowned Britain’s next prime minister after Labour MPs rushed to demonstrate loyalty to their ‘King of the North’
Some 322 of the party’s MPs – nearly 80 per cent of Labour’s seats in the House of Commons – have nominated Mr Burnham to replace Keir Starmer
He has so far been coy about his plans for Britain, has not yet spoken in the Commons since returning to Parliament, and exited a speech last week without taking questions from the media.
Mr Burnham has ruled out calling a snap general election when he enters Downing Street, despite having previously demanded the Tories go to the polls when they switched leaders while in office.
He is also set to become PM after MPs have already gone on their six-week summer break, meaning he will not face any questions in the Commons on his agenda until September.
Among those who pledged their backing to Mr Burnham after nominations opened on Thursday morning were current Deputy PM David Lammy, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, according to a list of published by Labour.
The rush by Labour MPs to show their loyalty to Mr Burnham comes as many of them jostle for top jobs in his incoming administration.
Starmer ally Steve Reed was one of only four Cabinet members who did not nominate Mr Burnham on Thursday, along with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, both of whom have been spoken of as potential chancellors, and party chairwoman Anna Turley.
But this does not necessarily mean they do not support Mr Burnham, as nominations must be made in person or through a limited number of proxy votes.
Even before nominations opened, Mr Burnham seemed almost certain to enjoy a coronation as Labour leader as the only declared candidate in the race to succeed Sir Keir.
But the size of his support in the parliamentary party means even a late challenger now has virtually no hope of securing the required nominations.
In a post on social media, Mr Burnham said he was ‘deeply grateful to the 322 Labour MPs who have put their trust in me and nominated me for Leader of the Labour Party’.
He added: ‘Their support comes from across the PLP (Parliamentary Labour Party) and reflects a shared belief that Britain needs a new approach to politics.
‘That is the circuit breaker I am offering: power out of Westminster, an economy rewired for ordinary people, and good growth in every postcode.
‘I want to empower MPs to bring the experiences of their constituents into the heart of government, and harness the full breadth of our Labour movement, drawing on all its traditions and beliefs in pursuit of a common purpose.
‘I want to thank every colleague who has nominated me for their commitment to that vision.’
Mr Burnham also received a boost when the Unite trade union, which is affiliated to Labour, gave him a ‘conditional nomination’ to be Britain’s next PM – although he was warned he had ‘one shot’ to improve his party’s fortunes.
Following a one-to-one meeting with Mr Burnham, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham announced her union would back him to be PM ‘conditional upon delivery’.
Ms Graham, who had been a fierce critic of Sir Keir’s leadership, said: ‘Labour now needs to deliver. This moment feels like the ‘last chance saloon’.
‘If warm words are not followed up by action, workers and communities prepared to listen now – will walk away.
‘Every day people are hurting. They are on their knees. The working class of Britain have paid the price for crisis after crisis, Labour now need to clearly show whose side they are on.
‘Britain needs a vision, a clear step-change in industrial and political direction. A ‘real Labour’ direction that must lead to well-paid, secure jobs and a society where everyone gets a decent piece of the pie.
‘Labour will get one shot – they now need to take it.’
Mr Burnham had earlier admitted it is ‘all starting to feel very real’ as his Labour leadership ‘coronation’ got under way.
As nominations opened on Thursday, Sir Keir told reporters he thought Mr Burnham would make a good PM – despite their bitter rivalry – saying they had known each other ‘a long time’.
Asked whether Mr Burnham would be a better PM than him, Sir Keir replied laughing: ‘These are things best judged by other people.’
The party’s MPs had rushed to show off their loyalty to the incoming PM when leadership nominations officially opened.
Barry Gardiner boasted that he was ‘first through the door’ at the Parliamentary Labour Party office this morning, but that was contested by David Pinto-Duschinsky, who insisted he was the first.
Luke Charters said it was ‘lovely to see so many MPs queuing up’, while others felt the need to explain on social media why they were not able to complete their duties immediately.
After going in to nominate himself, Mr Burnham joked that it was ‘third time lucky’ after his botched leadership bids in the past.
Nominations opened on Thursday morning after Mr Carns confirmed he would not stand to replace Sir Keir.
Mr Burnham’s close ally Louise Haigh has claimed a plan for his first 100 days in No10 has been in development for a long time.
But there is still nervousness about a lack of clarity of the former Greater Manchester mayor’s policy platform.
He last night sent an email to Labour’s 403 MPs vowing to have a more collegiate approach and wrote an article in The Times calling for defence cash to boost British industry.
Mr Burnham also signalled a tougher stance towards Israel over its military operations in Gaza.
In a video on social media, he apologised for Labour’s previous stance, saying his party ‘didn’t get it right’ and the UK had been ‘too slow to call for a ceasefire’.
Mr Burnham suggested that his Government would ‘do more to strengthen our approach’, including ‘looking at further sanctions, both on those involved in the violence in Gaza, but also looking at measures to ban trade in goods with illegal settlements’.
But he has not fleshed out any tax or spending plans beyond a commitment to stick to the Labour manifesto and increase devolution.
Ministers and MPs have been frantically jockeying for jobs in the new administration, with Mr Miliband hoping to be made Chancellor despite alarm in some quarters over his ‘Soviet’ views.
Mr Lammy, Ms Cooper and Attorney General Lord Hermer were all out and about on Thursday as the so-called ‘beauty parade’ for Cabinet jobs under Mr Burnham continued.
Intriguingly, New Labour stalwart David Miliband – the brother of Ed – was also due to give a speech on Thursday evening, having been tipped for a shock comeback to Government.
Prospective Labour leadership candidates need the backing of 81 MPs to put themselves forward to replace Sir Keir, who resigned last month after Mr Burnham’s victory in the Makerfield by-election.
In the absence of any other contenders before nominations close on July 15, Mr Burnham will be formally declared Labour leader at a special conference on July 17 and is expected to then become prime minister on July 20.
Former armed forces minister Mr Carns told Sky News last night: ‘I’d hoped a leadership contest would give us the opportunity for a proper debate.
‘But months of internal Labour politics isn’t what the country needs right now. We’ve got to get on with the job.
‘Andy Burnham’s earned this and he’s got my full backing.’
Allies of Mr Burnham have been briefing that Mr Carns has wrecked his chances of a ministerial job, with claims he only had three backers – including himself.
