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Burnham on Course to Become UK PM 07/10 06:19
LONDON (AP) -- Andy Burnham is on the brink of becoming Britain's next prime
minister after securing the backing on Thursday from 80% of Labour lawmakers in
a party leadership contest.
On the day nominations opened in the election to replace Prime Minister Keir
Starmer, Burnham secured the support of 322 of the 403 Labour members of
Parliament, far exceeding the 81 needed to run.
That makes it almost impossible for another legislator to get enough support
to challenge him, a prospect that was already unlikely.
Burnham said on social media that he was "deeply grateful" for the support
of Labour MPs, which "reflects a shared belief that Britain needs a new
approach to politics."
Throughout the day, lawmakers trudged up a narrow staircase to a Labour
office in the Parliament building to sign nomination papers for Burnham, who
has gone from being mayor of Greater Manchester to leader-in-waiting in the
space of a few weeks.
"It's all starting to feel very real," Burnham said in a social media video,
confirming that he had nominated himself.
Nominations remain open until July 16. Burnham is highly likely to be
announced as Labour's new leader the following day, and become prime minister
after a meeting with King Charles III on July 20.
Britain's parliamentary democracy allows governing parties to change
leaders, and thus prime ministers, without the need for a general election. The
next national election does not have to be held until 2029.
Other potential contenders have all ruled themselves out. Former Defense
Minister Al Carns, who had been considering a run, confirmed late Wednesday
that he will not challenge 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."
Starmer announced last month that he would resign as soon as his center-left
party chose a successor. He was elected in a landslide in July 2024, but quit
after two years in office marred by missteps and judgment errors that eroded
his standing with his party and the public.
Burnham spent almost a decade running Greater Manchester, in northwest
England, before returning to Parliament by winning a special election last
month.
He's promising sweeping change, vowing to reverse almost two decades of low
growth since the 2008 financial crisis through an approach dubbed
"Manchesterism" -- harnessing private and public money to invest in areas like
transport, housing and infrastructure.
But he will face many of the same political and economic challenges as
Starmer, including a sluggish economy, overstretched health care and welfare
systems and a cost-of-living squeeze.
He also promised continuity in foreign policy, and that the government's
"commitment to NATO and the U.K.'s nuclear deterrent will remain absolute."
Writing in The Times of London on Thursday, he said Britain will remain a firm
ally of the United States and a strong supporter of Ukraine.
But in an implicit criticism of Starmer, Burnham later said Labour "didn't
get it right" at the start of Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. In a video
message, Burnham condemned the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel by
Hamas militants, who killed around 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage.
Burnham also said the British government had been "too slow to call for a
ceasefire" in the conflict that has left 73,110 Palestinians dead, according to
the Gaza Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government. The
ministry is staffed by medical professionals who maintain detailed records
viewed as generally reliable by United Nations agencies and independent experts.
He said the U.K. would consider "further sanctions, both on those involved
in the violence in Gaza, but also looking at measures to ban trade in goods
with illegal settlements."
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