Just hours after Keir Starmer made an emotional speech from 10 Downing Street to announce his resignation from the UK Prime Minister's office on Monday, his main opponent, Labour leader Andy Burnham, was officially sworn in as Makerfield's new MP in the House of Commons. He's now also in the running to become the next UK PM, and reports say he could take over as early as July.
Burnham, who previously served as the Mayor of Greater Manchester, won the Makerfield by-election by 9,000 votes last week.
Burnham's name has been a key part of the speculation about Starmer's exit, a buzz that had been growing for weeks. After Keir Starmer announced his decision to step down, Labour veteran Burnham confirmed that he would seek to take over as the prime minister.
Throwing his hat in the ring, the 56-year-old called for an "orderly and responsible" transition of the Downing Street office.
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In a post on X, Andy Burnham said, "Keir has given huge service to our country, and I want to thank him for his leadership and dedication during such a challenging period. His decision marks the beginning of a transition, and it is important that this process is conducted in an orderly and responsible way. I will put myself forward as part of this process."
{{/usCountry}}In a post on X, Andy Burnham said, "Keir has given huge service to our country, and I want to thank him for his leadership and dedication during such a challenging period. His decision marks the beginning of a transition, and it is important that this process is conducted in an orderly and responsible way. I will put myself forward as part of this process."
{{/usCountry}}Burnham said the administration's priority was to work together to get the country back where "we all want it to be."
"Political change should never distract from the responsibility to improve people's lives," he added.
Earlier this month, Burnham told a BBC programme that he would seek to represent the people of the UK at the "highest possible level" if he got their support. “I’d have to persuade members of the parliamentary Labour Party,” he had said.
A September timeline, but Burnham could be PM in July
From 10 Downing Street, Keir Starmer said nominations for his successor would open on July 9, and any contest for the top office would be concluded by the end of Parliament's summer break on September 1.
Until then, Starmer would remain in office as caretaker PM and "ensure an orderly handover of power" to his successor.
Starmer's exit and a leader from within his own Labour party challenging him for the PM's chair are a stark reflection of the political instability in the United Kingdom.
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This is not the first time that Andy Burnham has sought the party leadership. He has lost the battle twice already -- once in 2010 to Ed Miliband and then in 2015 to Jeremy Corbyn.
Burnham joined the Parliament in 2001 and served in senior cabinet positions under former UK PMs Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
In 2017, he quit Parliament to run for Greater Manchester mayor, where he went on to win three successive elections. Andy Burnham's strong stance for the region earned him the nickname "King of the North", a reference to the popular TV series 'Game of Thrones'.
According to Burnham, his challenge to Starmer is a "final chance to change" the Labour Party.
While many applauded Andy Burnham's entry into the PM contest, leaders like former PM Boris Johnson issued a warning. The ex-Conservative PM said, "The clock is ticking, your honeymoon will not last long. Some asteroid will hit you, like Covid."
As of now, Burnham is the only name in the running for the next PM. However, people who believe Starmer was wrongly ousted, and those who believe Labour's Wes Streeting would have been a better successor, could still pose a difficulty for the party to move ahead unitedly.
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Discussions among those close to Andy Burnham had some disagreements about how quickly he could move to Downing Street, BBC reported.
Though Burnham's team prefers a power handover in September, he could move into Downing Street as early as July 16 in the case of no other contest.
Burnham's team is not reportedly "very ready" for the changeover, and the Labour party might try to keep Keir Starmer in office until the autumn, even if there's no other contest, BBC reported, citing a source.
"The timetable is the timetable, we don't have a choice, he becomes PM in July if he's the only candidate," a source was quoted as saying.
While a contest for the leadership post is decided on by Labour's National Executive Committee, it may as well boil down to Starmer himself if there is no other contest.