Andy Burnham wins Labour backing, poised to become unopposed leader

Lisa Nandy said Labour under Andy Burnham would be “faster and bolder” as 322 of the party’s 403 MPs lined up behind him on the first day of nominations, leaving him just one endorsement short of making it mathematically impossible for a rival to stand.

Nominations opened on 9 July and were due to close at 18:00 on 15 July. If only one valid candidate is nominated, Labour can use a special conference on 17 July to confirm that contender unopposed, with Burnham set to become prime minister on 20 July if no rival emerges. Nandy, the Culture Secretary and a Cabinet ally, said Burnham would “wear our hearts on our sleeve” more than Sir Keir Starmer and would shift “the centre of gravity in the country” so that all parts of the UK are seen and heard.

Burnham said he was “deeply grateful” to MPs from across the Parliamentary Labour Party who backed him, and said their support showed Britain needs “a new approach to politics.” He also said he wanted MPs to bring their constituents’ experiences into government and to harness the full breadth of the Labour movement.

He won the Makerfield by-election on 19 June, taking almost 55% of the 45,510 votes cast and beating Reform UK’s Rob Kenyon by more than 9,000 votes. He had previously been blocked from standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election, then returned after Josh Simons resigned to make way for him. Keir Starmer resigned as Labour leader on 22 June, triggering the race, after earlier saying he would fight any attempt to oust him.

Harriet Harman said Burnham was going to become prime minister. If he does so without opposition, Labour will be entering its third leadership election held in government, after 1976 and 2007. Burnham also brings prior experience of the contest, having stood in both the 2010 and 2015 Labour leadership elections.