London —
Andy Burnham has been confirmed as the new leader of Britain’s governing Labour Party, and will become the country’s seventh prime minister in a decade of extraordinary political instability when he succeeds Keir Starmer on Monday.
In his acceptance speech, Burnham pledged to give people “hope back” and challenge a political culture and economic model he said “simply doesn’t work well enough for ordinary people.”
Although official confirmation of Burnham’s ascension only came on Friday, he has, in reality, been the party’s leader-in-waiting since he won a crucial by-election last month, allowing him to return to parliament and challenge Starmer.
Labour’s disastrous local election results in May were seen as an indication of what could happen if Starmer – who is widely unpopular despite winning a landslide election victory two years ago – led the party into the next national vote. Burnham, then mayor of Greater Manchester, emerged as the best viable alternative in its scramble for a new leader.
