ANDY Burnham has been confirmed as the new leader of the UK Labour Party.
The former Greater Manchester mayor, who returned to Westminster last month as Makerfield MP, has been officially named the party's new boss at a special conference in London.
He will become UK prime minister on Monday.
Burnham was the only candidate to get the required support to replace Keir Starmer as party leader after his resignation.
He was backed by 379 of the party’s 403 MPs, far surpassing the 81 needed, and secured the support of eight of the 11 unions affiliated with the party.
Burnham has spoken about how he wants to push powers to local leaders outside Westminster as part of his devolution agenda and to create a “No 10 North” outpost of Downing Street based in Manchester.
He has said he will stick to Rachel Reeves’ fiscal rules as well as manifesto pledges not to raise income tax, VAT or National Insurance, but declined to rule out a wealth tax in an interview this week.
He did, however, stress he doesn't want to be seen as someone with "grudges or agendas" against rich people.
Burnham vowed to give people “hope back” and said he is “ready to lead”.
Burnham told the conference: "We are united and we put the power that comes from that unity at the service of people and places who have been waiting too long for politics to let them hope again.
“That’s what we’re going to do, everybody. We’re going to give them hope back."
He added: "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."
Burnham thanked outgoing prime minister Keir Starmer saying he "put Labour back in a position to change people’s lives".
Starmer on Thursday released a resignation honours list of 16 new peers which included former Holyrood presiding officer Ken Macintosh and London mayor Sadiq Khan.
Starmer has appointed more peers than any of the previous four prime ministers despite previous pleas by the Labour Party to look at reforming or abolishing the upper chamber.
Burnham said he wanted to eradicate factionalism in the party added: "I will work relentlessly to build a culture of one Labour team, because change starts with us.
“We won’t beat Britain’s new right if we are consumed by infighting and pulling in different directions. That is, and always has been, an indulgence that falls heaviest on the people who need Labour most.
“Fighting to eradicate it, and the insidious briefing culture that goes along with it, will characterise my leadership.”
Burnham pledged to not "out-Green the Greens" or "out-Reform Reform", adding Labour would win "by being us".
"I want people to understand the thinking behind the political direction I set up," he said.
"Britain took a serious of wrong turns in the 1980s. The country surrendered control of the essentials: housing, water, energy, transport. That in turn led to the concentration of more wealth and power in the hands of fewer people and fewer places."
"If we want an economy and a country that works for all people and places then it requires a new path to the one we have been on for the past 40 years. The government I led will confidently lay that path out starting next week.
"This change today is the most significant change moment in our politics for the last 40 years.
“It will take us to a country where life is more affordable and all people and places are lifted from where they are now.”
Burnham said he would be a leader for all nations and regions of the UK, but First Minister John Swinney said Bunrham must recognise Westminster "does not have the right to dictate Scotland's future".
“I congratulate Andy Burnham and I intend to do everything I can to build a constructive relationship with him in order to improve the lives of people in Scotland," he said.
“The UK faces serious challenges on a number of fronts. Flatlining living standards, weak economic growth and years of austerity have left households, public services and businesses struggling – made worse by the revolving door at 10 Downing Street and bad decisions taken by Westminster against Scotland's wishes.
"If Andy Burnham is serious about a genuinely new approach that can properly address these challenges, he will find in me and the SNP a willing partner. But that relationship must be based on a recognition that the political landscape across the UK is changing, and that Westminster does not have the right to dictate Scotland’s future.
“I look forward to speaking with the next Prime Minister in the coming days.”
