LONDON (AP) 鈥� Nominations open Thursday in a Labour Party election to replace as Britain鈥檚 prime minister, a contest in which there is expected to be just one candidate.
Former Greater Manchester Mayor will be collecting signatures from Labour lawmakers, and needs at least 80 to run 鈥� a target he鈥檚 likely to well exceed.
Other potential contenders have all ruled themselves out. Former Defense Minister Al Carns, who had been pondering a run, confirmed late Wednesday that he will not challenge Burnham.
鈥淚鈥檇 hoped a leadership contest would give us the opportunity for a proper debate,鈥� Carns said in a statement. 鈥淏ut months of internal Labour politics isn鈥檛 what the country needs right now. We鈥檝e got to get on with the job. Andy Burnham鈥檚 earned this and he鈥檚 got my full backing.鈥�
Nominations remain open until July 16. Burnham is highly likely to be announced as the new Labour leader the following day, and to become prime minister after a meeting with on July 20.
Starmer that he would resign as soon as his center-left party chose a successor. He was elected in a landslide in July 2024, but quit after in office marred by missteps and judgment errors that eroded his standing with his party and the public.
Burnham spent almost a decade running Manchester in northwest England before returning to Parliament by last month. He鈥檚 promising sweeping change, vowing to reverse almost two decades of low growth since the 2008 financial crisis through an approach dubbed 鈥淢anchesterism鈥� 鈥� harnessing private and public money to invest in areas like transport, housing and infrastructure.
But he will face many of the same political and economic challenges as Starmer, including a sluggish economy, and a cost-of-living squeeze.
He also promised continuity in foreign policy, writing in The Times of London that the government鈥檚 鈥渃ommitment to NATO and the U.K.鈥檚 nuclear deterrent will remain absolute.鈥� He said Britain will remain a firm ally of the United States and a strong supporter of Ukraine.
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