Andy Burnham set for U.K. prime minister after Labour nomination

A lawmaker belonging to Britain’s center-left Labour Party was named the new leader of his party on Friday, setting him up to replace Keir Starmer. Andy Burnham previously served as health secretary from 2009-2010 and is expected to take Starmer’s place as prime minister next week.

Most Labour members of Parliament, 379 out of 403, chose Burnham to be their party’s leader, party official Shabana Mahmood said Friday at a news conference. Only one Labour lawmaker chose to nominate someone else, she said without providing further detail about the rogue nomination. All of the trade unions affiliated with the party also supported Burnham, she added.

What did Burnham say about his plans as prime minister? He decried “four decades of neoliberalism,” which he said harmed working-class communities. He promised the biggest change of direction seen since the 1980s, including fixing Britain’s welfare systems, but he didn’t provide many specifics about his plans. Burnham also said he wanted to give more power over town improvements to ordinary people.

It was unclear if Burnham would replace the members of Starmer’s cabinet with his own picks. He hadn’t yet made a decision on that matter, but would announce cabinet members on Monday, he said Friday, according to the BBC.

Burnham and other Labour Party leaders also thanked outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the news conference, crediting him with saving the party and launching it back into prominence. While Starmer will no longer lead his party, he will remain a lawmaker representing the Holborn and St. Pancras parts of London in Parliament at least until the next election.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report on Starmer’s decision to step down from his prime minister position.