Andy Burnham becomes Labour leader, set to become UK PM

Andy Burnham became leader of Britain's governing Labour Party on Friday, the final step before becoming its seventh prime minister in a decade. At a "special conference" on Friday, Burnham, who earned the regal moniker ⁠for his determination as mayor of Greater Manchester to defend the region's interests, was elected after gaining overwhelming support from Labour lawmakers. The event is little more ‌than a formality before he replaces Keir Starmer as Britain's leader on Monday, when the party ⁠will be eager to find out his cabinet team and learn more about his approach to government.
He has given one speech since returning ​to parliament last month after winning a parliamentary seat in Makerfield, the start of a four-week process to install him as prime minister and remove Starmer, whose unpopularity across Britain turned his lawmakers against him. In it, he sketched out ​some of his domestic agenda, saying he wanted to oversee the "biggest rebalancing of power" from London to Britain's regions – something ​he believes will reduce inequality and the anger felt by 'left-behind communities' who have increasingly ​flocked to Reform.
With a general election no more than three years away, Burnham ⁠will need to start implementing some of his pledges, many of which are based on long-term thinking, as quickly as possible