LONDON
\nVeteran UK politician Andy Burnham was confirmed on Friday as the new leader of the ruling Labour Party, and is now set to be Britain\u2019s next prime minister. \u201cThere being no other eligible nominated candidate, it is therefore my honour to declare that the duly elected leader of the Labour Party is Andy Burnham,\u201d interior minister Shabana Mahmood told a special party conference.
\nBurnham also vowed to give \u201chope back\u201d to the British people as he prepares to become to the UK\u00b4s next prime minister. He told a special party conference after being declared the winner of a leadership contest that \u201cpeople and places … have been waiting too long for politics to let them hope again. That\u00b4s what we\u00b4re going to do, everybody. We\u2019re going to give them hope back.\u201d
\n\u201cWe are united and we put the power that comes from that unity at the service of people and places who have been waiting too long for politics to let them hope again,\u201d he told a room full of Labour lawmakers and party officials. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to do, everybody, we\u2019re going to give them hope back.\u201d
\nHe also paid tribute to Keir Starmer, the man he will replace as British prime minister on Monday, when the party will be eager to find out his cabinet team and learn more about his approach to government. Burnham\u2019s big \u2018rebalancing of power\u2019 Despite his offer of hope to places that feel \u2018left behind\u2019, there is still much to know about how Burnham will govern.
\nHe has given one speech since returning to parliament last month after winning a seat in Makerfield, the start of a four-week process to remove Starmer, whose unpopularity across Britain turned his lawmakers against him, and take his place as prime minister.
\nIn it, he sketched out some of his domestic agenda, saying he wanted to oversee the \u201cbiggest rebalancing of power\u201d from London to Britain\u2019s regions \u2014 something he believes will reduce inequality and the anger felt by \u201cleft-behind communities\u201d who have increasingly flocked to Reform.
\nThat message of having a plan to thwart the rise of Reform won over Labour lawmakers, who feared they would lose their parliamentary seats to veteran Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage\u2019s populist party at the next national election, due by 2029. Reform has topped opinion polls for months.
\nSome of that sheen has been tarnished in recent weeks by Farage\u2019s acceptance of funds from wealthy donors, perhaps giving Burnham an opening to revive Labour\u2019s fortunes. Yet he does not have much time. With a general election no more than three years away, Burnham will need to start implementing some of his pledges, many of which are based on long-term thinking, as quickly as possible.
\nNigel Wilcock, executive director at the Institute of Economic Development, an independent body representing economic development professionals, said Burnham had spent years making the case for a different approach to economic growth: \u201cThe challenge is turning that vision into a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON Veteran UK politician Andy Burnham was confirmed on Friday as the new leader of the ruling Labour Party, and is now set to be Britain\u2019s next prime minister. \u201cThere being no other eligible nominated candidate, it is therefore my honour to declare that the duly elected leader of the Labour Party is Andy Burnham,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":556890,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-556864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n