LONDON (AP) — The race to replace Keir Starmer as Britain’s prime minister got underway Thursday as the Labour Party officially opened nominations — and it appears there will be only one person in the running.
Former Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has begun gathering signatures from fellow Labour lawmakers. He needs a minimum of 80 to officially enter the contest, a threshold he is widely expected to surpass with ease.
Every other politician who had been considering a run has since stepped aside. Former Defense Minister Al Carns, who had been weighing whether to enter the race, announced late Wednesday that he would not stand against Burnham.
“I’d hoped a leadership contest would give us the opportunity for a proper debate,” Carns said in a statement. “But months of internal Labour politics isn’t what the country needs right now. We’ve got to get on with the job. Andy Burnham’s earned this and he’s got my full backing.”
The nomination window closes July 16. Burnham is expected to be declared the new Labour leader the very next day, and is set to officially become prime minister following an audience with King Charles III on July 20.
Starmer announced last month that he would step down once his center-left party selected a replacement. He won the prime ministership by a wide margin in July 2024, but chose to leave after two years in office that were clouded by missteps and poor judgment calls that damaged his reputation within his own party and among the broader public.
Burnham spent nearly ten years governing Manchester in northwest England before returning to Parliament last month after winning a special election. He has pledged bold change, promising to reverse nearly two decades of sluggish economic growth dating back to the 2008 financial crisis. His plan, which he calls “Manchesterism,” centers on combining private and public investment in areas such as transportation, housing, and infrastructure.
Still, Burnham will inherit many of the same difficult challenges that plagued Starmer — a slow-moving economy, struggling public services, and an ongoing cost-of-living crisis facing everyday citizens.
On foreign affairs, Burnham has pledged to stay the course, writing in The Times of London that the government’s “commitment to NATO and the U.K.’s nuclear deterrent will remain absolute.” He also stated that Britain will continue to stand firmly alongside the United States and remain a strong backer of Ukraine.
