Who is Burnham, the next leader of the UK’s Labour Party and the country’s next prime minister?

Andy Burnham has taken a step closer to becoming the next leader of the UK's Labour Party and the country's next prime minister. The majority of the party's lawmakers (MPs) have nominated him to succeed Keir Starmer. In the first round of nominations, 322 of the 403 Labour MPs have backed Burnham.

Burnham needs the support of just one more MP to completely block any rival candidate from standing in the election. He is currently just one vote away from the required 323 nominations. Several MPs have said they will formally support Burnham when he returns to parliament, even if he is unable to attend on Thursday (July 9).

Burnham stepped down as mayor of Greater Manchester in May amid calls for Starmer to resign. He then ran in a by-election for the Makerfield seat in northwest England. Burnham won that election and became a member of parliament from mayor.

Reuters reports that Burnham, 56, held several ministries in the government of then-Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010. He later contested for the leadership of the Labour Party twice. But he lost to Ed Miliband in 2010 and Jeremy Corbyn in 2015. He then ran for mayor of Greater Manchester.

While mayor of this northern English city, Burnham took a strong stand against the policies of the then-ruling Conservative Party in 2020. During the Covid situation, Burnham protested when Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed strict restrictions on Manchester without adequate compensation.

Due to such a stance, Burnham gained widespread support in the northern part of England. He also received the title of 'King of the North'. At the same time, his position in national politics was strengthened.

Starmer's potential successor, Hissene Burnham, has been in the news for his philosophy of 'Manchesterism', which is based on pro-business policies and socialist aspirations.

Burnham believes that the lessons learned from Manchester's rapid economic rise can be used to reshape Britain's economy.

Source: Reuters.