Andy Burnham set his sights on 'eradicating' Reform UK today after taking control of Labour. The new party leader and de-facto prime minister vowed to take on the 'new Right' at the head of a united leftwing party.After spending the past year seeking to undermine and replace Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Burnham used his victory speech to attack 'factional politics' within Labour.It comes as his party chose a new leader who it hopes can beat Nigel Farage and Reform, who have led in the polls for more than a year but are now embroiled in a financial scandal.The new Labour leader said: 'I will work relentlessly to build a culture of one Labour team, because change starts with us.'We won't beat Britain's new right if we are consumed by infighting and pulling in different directions. That is, and always has been, an indulgence that falls heaviest on the people who need Labour most.'Fighting to eradicate it, and the insidious briefing culture that goes along with it, will characterise my leadership.'In what may be seen as a dig at his predecessor Sir Keir, he added that the party will not 'try to out-Reform Reform'.The former leader was criticised for an immigration speech suggesting it had made the UK 'an island of strangers'.But it also comes at a time when Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who has brought forward immigration reforms unpopular with Labour MPs and members, is being tipped for a promotion to Chancellor. The new party leader and de-facto prime minister vowed to take on the 'new Right' at the head of a united leftwing party It comes as his party seeks a new leader who can beat Nigel Farage and Reform, who have led in the polls for more than a year but are now embroiled in a financial scandalMr Burnham pledged to set a political direction that is 'distinctively Labour' instead of 'doing what we've done in the past of wearing too many Tory clothes.'The new party leader said: 'Yes, we will work with other parties where we can, but in doing so have the clarity of knowing exactly where we stand.'As your leader, I will set a direction that is distinctively Labour. We won't try to outgreen the Greens or out-Reform Reform, or doing what we've done in the past of wearing too many Tory clothes.'Let me tell you, I'm quite happy that Kemi doesn't approve of my wardrobe choices, because I'm not keen on theirs either.'From here, we do it differently. We win by being us, boldly, boldly, confidently, authentically us. Labour. That's how we win.'Mr Burnham accused 'the right' of having given away Britain's control in the 1980s.The new Labour leader said: 'I want people to understand the thinking behind the political direction I set, so people can see the decisions we take and the reasons why.'I am clear: Britain took a series of wrong turns in the 1980s. Political power was centralised, and economic power was privatised.'The country surrendered control of the essentials – housing, water, energy, transport – and left people exposed to higher costs. That, in turn, led to the concentration of more wealth and power in the hands of fewer people and fewer places.'Large parts of Britain were deindustrialised without the power to set new ambitions for themselves.'He added: 'Slowly, at times imperceptibly, over four decades, political and economic power drained away out of our communities in every region and nation of the UK.'If local places don't control something as basic as a bus service, how can they connect people to opportunity and turn things around?'If the sell-off of council homes leaves the country chasing rents in the private rented sector through the benefits system and paying for temporary accommodation for thousands of families, as they have to do here in London and elsewhere across the country, how then will we find the money to invest in prevention and improve people's lives? The truth is, we can't.'He questioned how the country could control inflation, public spending and the rest of the economy if there was not public control over the cost of the essentials, adding: 'The right used the phrase 'take back control', but they are the ones who gave it away in the first place.'