Andy Burnham told the UK's Labour Party on Friday that his leadership would lift Britain by “fixing the big things”, in a message that aimed to inspire confidence in his prospective government.
The latest step on Mr Burnham's march to become Britain’s next prime minister came as Labour held a special conference to confirm him as the party's leader. With no other contestants entering the race and with the backing of 379 of Labour’s 403 MPs, the former mayor of Manchester is just days away from entering Downing Street.
“I know what I want to do,” he declared. “I have a plan.”
His tenure would combine the “courage to fix the big things that politics has neglected” with the “conviction to argue for our plans”, he told delegates at the Trades Union Congress headquarters in London.
The new leader said he would make five changes in direction for the government. “Decades of the neoliberalism that began in the 1980s have not been kind to the places that built our party, nor to the communities across the UK in rural and coastal areas,” he said. “So we pledge today to them to be better.
“We will take power back from Westminster and Whitehall and give it to the place where you live.”
In addition to those extensive devolution reforms for “every city and region”, he is expected to push for lower energy costs with renewed North Sea oil exploration and a symbolic push to take Thames Water into public control.
Although he will be the new party leader, he will not become prime minister until Keir Starmer has formally stepped down.
On Monday morning, Mr Starmer is to travel to Buckingham Palace to hand in his resignation to King Charles III, who will then invite the new Labour leader to form a government.
-
Andy Burnham celebrates after his swearing-in as MP at the Houses of Parliament in June 2026. All photos: Getty Images -
Mr Burnham speaks as he celebrates his victory in the Makerfield by-election -
Mr Burnham is declared winner in the by-election in June -
Mr Burnham speaks to a resident in Ashton-in-Makerfield as he goes door-to-door canvassing in May -
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, MP and former deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner and Manchester mayor Mr Burnham in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, in April -
Mr Burnham speaks to the media as he visits Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, after a stabbing and car attack took place on Yom Kippur in October 2025 -
Mr Burnham speaks at an event promoting British democracy, at ACC Liverpool in September 2025 -
Mr Burnham poses outside the Salford Lads Club made famous by The Smiths and their album The Queen Is Dead, after launching his mayoral re-election campaign in April 2024 -
Mr Burnham and Prince William visit the Hideaway Youth Project during a visit to Moss Side, Manchester, in November 2023 -
Mr Burnham poses for pictures at the start of the 40th Great North Run in September 2021 in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne -
Mr Burnham sanitises his hands before a memorial service for victims of Covid at Manchester Cathedral in 2020 -
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is greeted by Mr Burnham as he arrives at Manchester Victoria Station in 2018 -
Mr Burnham celebrates winning the Greater Manchester mayoral election in 2017 -
Mr Burnham takes part in a hustings in Glasgow in 2015, when he was campaigning to be Labour leader -
Then secretary of state for culture, media and sport, Mr Burnham attends a cabinet meeting in Downing Street, London, in 2008
Shortly after midday, Mr Burnham will return to Downing Street as prime minister. He will give a speech from the same lectern that Mr Starmer will have used to issue his final words as Britain’s leader about 90 minutes earlier.
While the formalities are predictable, what happens next is less so. Shortly after entering Downing Street, Mr Burnham will announce who will be appointed to the key post of Chancellor.
While left-wing Energy Secretary Ed Miliband had been touted for the post, it now appears, after pressure from trade unions and businesses, that the Treasury could be handed over to the more centrist Shabana Mahmood, making her the first Muslim woman to hold the post.
It would be a significant promotion for Ms Mahmood, who is currently serving as Home Secretary, and would offer reassurance to Labour MPs and business leaders seeking fiscal stability. Mr Miliband could well become foreign secretary, although that would leave party stalwart Yvette Cooper without a job, unless she is given another cabinet role.
John Healey may return to the role of defence minister, a post he resigned from last month – a move that largely triggered Mr Starmer’s decision to step down. It is also expected that former deputy leader Angela Rayner will be given a cabinet position, although she is not as close to Mr Burnham as others.
-
Keir Starmer announces his resignation as UK Prime Minister outside No 10 Downing Street in June. All photos: Getty Images -
Mr Starmer joins party supporters at a community centre in London as local election campaigning entered the final straight in May 2026 -
Mr Starmer greets Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to China in January 2026 -
Mr Starmer attends a Diwali ceremony during a visit to India in October 2025 -
US President Donald Trump and Mr Starmer at Chequers in September 2025 -
Mr Starmer hosts a VE Day 80th anniversary street party on Downing Street, London, in May 2025 -
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mr Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron hold a meeting in March 2025 in London -
Mr Starmer speaks to soldiers at RAF Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus in December 2024 -
Mr Starmer talks to the media on board his plane as he flies to Washington in September 2024 -
Newly elected Prime Minister Mr Starmer stands with Labour MPs, at Church House in Westminster in July 2024 -
Mr Starmer chairs the first meeting of his cabinet at No 10 Downing Street in July 2024 -
Britain's King Charles III receives Mr Starmer at Buckingham Palace in July 2024 -
Mr Starmer celebrates winning the general election with a speech at Tate Modern in London in July 2024
Lucy Powell, who was sacked by Mr Starmer before being elected as deputy party leader, is a close ally of Mr Burnham and will be given a cabinet job.
The announcements from Downing Street will emerge rapidly on Monday, with the king having to sign off on every post, leading to a degree of turbulence in government. In total, Mr Burnham will place more than 100 MPs, including junior ministers and whips, on the government “payroll”.
His immediate challenge will be to unite a party that has endured weeks of uncertainty, while also convincing voters that Labour has entered a new chapter as he tries to surmount Britain’s economic challenges.
