Andy Burnham is on the brink of becoming Britain's next prime minister after securing nominations from 322 Labour MPs — nearly 80 per cent of the party's seats in the House of Commons — in the contest to replace Keir Starmer as Labour leader. The scale of his support means he is all but guaranteed to win, as too few undeclared MPs now remain for any rival to reach the 81 nominations required to stand.

The former Greater Manchester mayor was backed by senior figures including Deputy PM David Lammy, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper. His path was effectively cleared when former defence minister Al Carns, seen as his last potential challenger, abandoned any bid on Wednesday night. Burnham said he was "deeply grateful" to those who had nominated him, with many Labour MPs reportedly jostling for senior roles in his expected administration.