Andy Burnham is almost guaranteed to become the next prime minister of the United Kingdom after securing overwhelming backing from Labour MPs to be the next party leader. The new Makerfield MP received 322 votes from Labour MPs to succeed Sir Keir Starmer, representing 80 per cent of the parliamentary party.
Overwhelming Support Leaves Little Room for Challengers
The total means that only 81 Labour MPs remain who could nominate another contender, the minimum needed to get onto the ballot. However, convention dictates that the outgoing leader does not nominate a candidate, meaning in reality there are no longer enough undeclared MPs to back an alternative to Mr Burnham.
The former Greater Manchester mayor secured the nominations by 5pm on Thursday, the first day MPs could formally back a leadership candidate. 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.
Size of Support Makes Late Challenge Virtually Impossible
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. According to party rules, a candidate needs the backing of at least 10 per cent of Labour MPs (around 40) to stand. With only 81 MPs undeclared, any potential rival would need to persuade nearly half of them to break ranks, a highly unlikely scenario given the momentum behind Burnham.
The result effectively clears the path for Burnham to become Labour leader and, barring a major upset, the next prime minister. The party is expected to confirm the result in the coming weeks, with Burnham likely to take over from Starmer before the next general election.
