Burnham Poised to Become UK Prime Minister

The British Labour Party is on the verge of a leadership change. On the first day of nominations, Andy Burnham secured the support of 322 out of 403 Labour MPs, putting him virtually on track to become the sole candidate to succeed Keir Starmer.

He needs just one more nomination to confirm this position. If he secures the support of 323 MPs, no other candidate will be able to reach the 81 nominations required to enter the race for the party leadership.

"It's all starting to feel very real", Burnham said in a short video announcing his candidacy.

Nominations for the leadership of the Labour Party close on 16 July. Burnham is expected to be officially confirmed as party leader on 17 July and to take office as prime minister on 20 July.

Some Labour MPs who were unable to vote on Thursday have indicated that they will support Burnham upon their return to Parliament on Monday.

Starmer announced his resignation last month following Labour's poor showing in the May local elections, which had sparked growing pressure for a change in the party's leadership.

(Reuters, bak)