Andy Burnham secures 349 Labour MP nominations, becomes UK prime minister on 20 July

The path to 349

Andy Burnham will become the UK's next prime minister after receiving an extra 27 nominations from Labour MPs on Monday, taking his total to 349. The additional endorsements, on top of the 322 he received last week, mean no other candidate can gain the 81 nominations required to mount a leadership challenge. Almost 80% of the Parliamentary Labour Party formally nominated Burnham last week, and Monday's extra endorsements took him over the threshold.

The extra nominations included backing from Communities Secretary Steve Reed, a key ally of outgoing prime minister Keir Starmer. Reed was the only member of the Cabinet not to nominate Burnham last week. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Minister without Portfolio Anna Turley, by convention, will not nominate anyone because of their roles chairing Labour's national executive committee and the party respectively. Starmer, as outgoing leader, also does not participate.

Others who nominated Burnham on Monday included junior ministers Chris Bryant and Mike Tapp, former minister Jess Phillips, and Richard Burgon, secretary of the left-wing Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs.

Hustings and 'broad church' promises

Despite being the only candidate, Burnham took part in an online hustings with Labour MPs on Monday evening. During the session he promised to unite the party by assembling a "broad church" ministerial team and tried to reassure colleagues that his approach would not be excessively focused on Manchester. One participant said Burnham criticised an "outsourced state with little accountability" and said he wanted to see "insourcing" of government contracts.

The Labour movement is, and always has been, a broad church. Cabinet appointments will reflect that, alongside contribution, experience and commitment.

Burnham was preparing to ask Labour MPs to "make sure he is accountable, visible and accessible" to the Parliamentary Labour Party, according to a briefing seen by The Independent. He said: "We need a feedback loop of the PLP into communities and back to the leadership and cabinet. It is essential for good policy-making and delivery." He also promised to restore the whip to Hull MP Karl Turner, suspended over a disagreement on watering down the right to jury trial.

Outsourcing and public control

Burnham told MPs he wants to bring government contracts in-house, exerting more public control over Britain's vast outsourcing industry. Every year 400 billion pounds of public money is spent on government contracts, according to the Cabinet Office. In March Starmer's government announced it would stop "outsourcing by default" and would review whether more services could be delivered in-house. Burnham has previously promised to extend public control to housing, transport, energy and water.

A major overhaul of local government in more than a dozen cities is expected to be approved in the days before Burnham takes power. One Labour MP said Burnham sought to convince colleagues he would not be "Manchester-centric" and would ensure his approach "works for Wales, Scotland, rural, coastal and the south-east. And it won't just all be about mayors."

Voting reform pressure

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey is poised to urge Burnham to introduce proportional representation before the next general election, warning that failure to act could render it "too late." Speaking at the Institute for Government on Tuesday, Sir Ed is expected to appeal directly to Burnham to collaborate, asserting that if Burnham is "serious about changing the way we do politics," then his "door is open" for discussions.

Be bold, be brave. And do it now. Don't wait until it is too late. Don't wait until after the next election, when you might be powerless to do anything about it.

Burnham has previously spoken in favour of replacing Britain's first-past-the-post system with proportional representation. During a Reddit Ask-Me-Anything event he said: "I am a strong supporter of electoral reform, partly because I believe it will enable the change to a more collaborative politics." Labour's 2024 manifesto instead focused on extending voting to 16 and 17-year-olds and House of Lords reform.

Blair's warning and the US relationship

At the Tony Blair Institute's summer drinks reception at the National Theatre in London, former prime minister Tony Blair warned Burnham over several challenges ahead. He said his biggest advice would be: "You are not going to be loved."

The thing that's important for me, though, is the American relationship, and that's important for a very, very specific reason.

Blair refused to give advice on dealing with Donald Trump but stressed the need to maintain strong ties with the US because of the threat of an invasion to Europe from Russia. He also warned Burnham over continuing with energy secretary Ed Miliband's net zero policies. The event, sponsored by Uber, was attended by figures including former Tory prime minister Rishi Sunak.

Business rates reform call

A coalition of business groups is calling on Burnham to tax online sales as part of a complete reform of the UK's business-rates system. The Real Rates Reform Alliance, which launches on Tuesday and includes UKHospitality and the Institute of Directors, represents more than 28,000 firms and business leaders. The group wants all online sales taxed at 2%, which it said would allow a 37% cut in business rates for bricks-and-mortar firms. The alliance described the current property tax as "broken and unsustainable."