Andy Burnham latest: Prime minister-in-waiting to pledge to be ‘unashamedly Labour’ when he becomes party leader – UK Times

Today is the day – Andy Burnham will replace Sir Keir Starmer as leader of the Labour Party.

The former Greater Manchester mayor secured the backing of 349 Labour MPs earlier this week, meaning it is impossible for any other candidate to gain the 81 endorsements needed to challenge for the Labour leadership.

The TSSA transport union, Aslef, Community, GMB, Unison, Fire Brigades Union, Unite and shopworkers’ union Usdaw have also endorsed him.

That means that a smooth transfer of power is expected during a special Labour conference in London at around midday.

In his inaugural speech he is expected to lay out an argument for his policies, which he says will be “unashamedly Labour”.

It will be the biggest day of the Makerfield MP’s political life until Monday, when he will be sworn in as prime minister.

Andy Burnham is set to take over the Labour leadership on Friday – but will have to wait a few more days before he becomes prime minister.

Over the weekend, he will officially be Labour leader but Sir Keir Starmer will still technically lead the country.

He will then travel to Buckingham Palace on Monday and formally hand his resignation to the King, recommending Mr Burnham as his successor.

Mr Burnham will then be coronated as prime minister on Monday afternoon.

Political editor David Maddox examines whether Andy Burnham will bring back one – or both – of the Miliband brothers, or whether history could repeat itself with one losing out on a top job at the expense of the other.

Andy Burnham has said he won’t be afraid to disagree with American president Donald Trump, adding that he would try to “meet him where he’s at” while “respecting the office”.

The prime minister-in-waiting told Gary Lineker in an interview for Goalhanger: “Maybe in a similar way to the way I’ve just described, I’ll just meet him where he’s at. And, you know, I like to think I’ve got some personality myself and I’ll just, you know, I’ll deal with him very upfront in the same way. I think he likes people to deal with him.

“He described Manchester as some town when he was referring to my position. And I might have to, you know what Mancs are like, Gary, that won’t have gone down fantastically well in the city I used to represent.

“But yeah, you know, it’s about being yourself, isn’t it? It’s about respecting the office, the relationship, the UK-US relationship. But, you know, where you disagree, do it, but do it in a way that is kind of meeting him where he’s at.”

Sir Tony Blair has warned Andy Burnham over riding into No10 on a wave of popularity, saying he would have told himself “you may think you’re going to be loved, but you’re not going to be” after Labour’s 1997 landslide victory.

In a frank discussion with comedian Matt Forde at the Tony Blair Institute (TBI)’s summer drinks reception at the National Theatre in London, the former prime minister also said Mr Burnham needed to maintain a strong relationship with the US “whoever is president” because of the threat of an invasion to Europe from Russia.

And he warned Mr Burnham over continuing with energy secretary Ed Miliband’s net zero policies.

But arguably his biggest advice was “you are not going to be loved”.

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A Reform mayoral candidate has falsely claimed that Andy Burnham has not built any social housing in Manchester during his nine years as mayor.

Sian Astley, who is standing in the race to be the next Greater Manchester to replace Mr Burnham who resigned to stand as an MP, told the Reform UK podcast on 6 July 2026: “I think there are over 20,000 households on the Manchester housing register, and they haven’t built social housing for decades”.

Podcast host, Ray Addison, responded, saying: “Obviously, he’s been mayor of Greater Manchester for 10 years. One might have thought he’d have made a bit more progress with that.”

But official government figures, analysed by The Independent, show thousands of social and affordable homes have been built across the region during Mr Burnham’s tenure.

Wes Streeting has dismissed rumours he was spotted “crying in a lift” near Andy Burnham’s Parliamentary office as “bizarre speculation”.

Mr Streeting, who resigned as health secretary after he said he had lost faith in Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership, wrote on X: Of all the bizarre speculation I’ve read in recent days, this is the best.

“I wasn’t even present, let alone involved

“Hope my doppelgänger is ok though.”

An economy that’s back in growth, sterling at a two-year high against the dolllar… Andy Burnham looks set to inherit a UK primed for growth. What could possibly go wrong, asks James Moore.