Andy Burnham formally declared as Labour leader Andy Burnham has officially been crowned as the leader of the Labour Party, meaning he is days away from being de facto prime minister. The Makerfield MP will have to wait until Monday to formally take over from Keir Starmer in No.10, as a quirk in the rules means he could not take both titles on the same day. Burnham ran uncontested to be the next leader of the largest party in the Commons with the support of more than 350 of Labour’s 403 MPs. In his first speech as Labour leader, he promised he would help to give Brits “hope back”. He said his supporters “heard the call from the people of Makerfield on behalf of forgotten places everywhere, up and down this country, for a return of the Labour they once knew”. He added: “And now we answer that call. We will be that version of Labour again.” Burnham, who has run three times to lead the party, promised he is “ready” to lead Labour now after his nine-year stint as Greater Manchester mayor. He also praised Starmer for making the party electable after its shocking defeat in the 2019 general election. He then began to outline what changes he wants to implement, promising: “Change starts with honesty. “We must recognise that this generation of politicians, myself included, have failed to challenge a political culture and an economic model that simply doesn’t work well enough for ordinary people. “Four decades of neoliberalism that began in the 1980s have not been kind to the places that built our party, nor to the communities across the UK in rural and coastal areas. So we pledge today to them to be better.” He added that the public has given his party a “last chance” to implement change – and that he will take the country in a direction which is “distinctively Labour”. Burnham made five promises to improve the party, too. He said he would work to build a “new politics”, change Labour’s “political direction”, be a leader for the entirety of the UK, take power back from Westminster and Whitehall and work to stop Labour in-fighting. Burnham has had a rapid ascent to Downing Street in recent months. Support for the then-Greater Manchester mayor started to rise as Starmer’s successor after the party’s disastrous performance in the May elections in England, Scotland and Wales. However, as he did not have a seat in the Commons, Burnham was not able to challenge Starmer’s premiership. So Josh Simons, Makerfield MP, stood aside to trigger a by-election and give Burnham a chance to return to the Commons. His comfortable victory over Reform UK last month only strengthened calls for Starmer to step down. The prime minister subsequently resigned and Labour MPs rushed to endorse Burnham. There is still plenty of mystery around what Burnham intends to do in office as he avoided any major press conferences and is yet to announce who he wants in his cabinet. But he insisted today that he “has a plan” and that he will “not change”, staying loyal to his style. “I have listened and learned as I have gone along, you’ll be pleased to know. And hopefully I’ve got better as a result,” Burnham said. “You can be sure of this: I know what I believe after 25 years as an elected Labour representative, and I know what I want to do with you all. I have a plan. “What I also want you to know is I won’t change. I have a style and it’s my style. I will always stay close to the ground, close to the people.” Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster. Related... Andy Burnham Set To Vow To 'Fix The Big Things' In First Speech As Labour Leader Andy Burnham Promises To Be 'Very Upfront' With Trump After President's Dig Burnham Under Fire As Labour Blocks Vote To Force Him To Face Commons On First Day As PM