Sawt Falasteen - Labour leadership contest takes Burnham closer to UK PM's office

The 56-year-old is the only Labour member of parliament to have publicly said they are a candidate to succeed Starmer, who announced he was quitting last month.

Burnham will need to show that he has the support of 81 of Labour's 402 MPs to become a formal candidate, a tally that he is expected to surpass easily.

All eyes will be on whether an alternative candidate can muster the required support to challenge Burnham, nicknamed the "King of the North" for winning three consecutive Greater Manchester mayoral elections.

If no one sparks a contest, then Burnham will be crowned Labour's new leader -- and prime minister in waiting -- at a special conference on Friday 17 July.

Burnham would then replace Starmer in 10 Downing Street on Monday 20 July.

If a contest does take place, then the victor will be announced on 29 August following a ballot of Labour members and affiliated unions.

Burnham vowed in a keynote speech in late June to "bring about the biggest rebalancing of power our country has seen".

He pledged to put power "in the hands of the people and places who can use it best".

"We need a new determination to raise living standards of every single person in this land," he added at the speech in a Manchester museum.

"And we must accept that to do that, to fix the economy and the country, we need to change politics and we need to do it now."

Starmer, under pressure for months over policy U-turns and questions about his judgement, announced on June 22 that he was resigning after losing the support of Labour MPs.

He was unable to withstand mounting calls to quit after Burnham had days earlier won a by-election that allowed him to return to parliament to launch a widely expected leadership challenge.

On the day Starmer announced his resignation, Burnham was sworn into parliament, becoming an MP again following his stint between 2001 and 2017.

- 'Breath of fresh air' -

Afterwards, some 200 Labour MPs feted Burnham during a group photo in Westminster, in a clear sign that they expect him to take over.

Former health minister Wes Streeting announced he was dropping his intention to run and throwing his support behind Burnham.

Burnham -- seen as slightly to the left of the more centrist Starmer -- is Labour's most popular politician, surveys show.

Many MPs feel he is the party's best chance of clawing back support from Nigel Farage's anti-immigrant Reform UK party before the next general election, expected in 2029.

Reform has led Labour in national opinion polls for well over a year, although the gap has narrowed in recent weeks.

Burnham has pledged fiscal discipline and to reduce the country's ballooning welfare bill, having already sought to calm markets by committing to the government's current borrowing limits.

And he has also proposed the creation of a "No. 10 North" to coordinate a devolution -- a play on words on the UK prime minister's address at 10 Downing Street.

One Labour MP, who asked not to be named, said the party was right to "roll the dice" on Burnham, saying "he couldn't be worse than Starmer".

"I hope he's a breath of fresh air," she told AFP.

Another, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said he backed Burnham but was concerned that he will only have had a few weeks to prepare for government.

G.AbuGhazaleh--SF-PST