Andy Burnham, a member of the U.K. House of Commons, effectively secured a solo bid in the party leadership primary on the 9th (local time), making it likely he will succeed Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Burnham said on his Facebook page that day, "I am deeply grateful to the 322 Labor Party members of Parliament who have trusted me and nominated me for party leader." That figure is about 79.9% of the 403 MPs from the Labor Party.
Under U.K. Labor Party rules, to register as a candidate for party leader, a contender must secure nominations from 20% of all MPs. With just one more nomination, Burnham would surpass 80%, making it impossible for any other candidate to register. It is a structure that effectively allows him to run as the sole candidate.
The BBC reported that while some MPs could not take part in the process of signing the nomination papers in person, they would back Burnham upon returning to Parliament.
Also, no one besides Burnham is known to have expressed an intention to join the race. Al Khan, former Vice Minister at the Ministry of National Defense, who had been weighing a run, said on the evening of the 8th that he would not run.
The deadline for candidate registration is the 16th. If Burnham's unopposed run is confirmed, he is expected to be officially elected party leader on the 17th without a separate vote. He is then expected to meet King Charles III on the 20th to be appointed prime minister.
Born in 1970, Burnham was first elected in the 2001 general election for Leigh in Greater Manchester and went on to serve four terms as an MP. From 2017, he served as mayor of Greater Manchester. He then returned to the Commons by winning the Makerfield by-election in June 2026.