Andy Burnham, nicknamed the ‘King of the North’, was elected leader of Britain’s governing Labor Party on Friday, the final step before becoming its seventh prime minister in a decade on a pledge to thwart the rise of the populist Reform UK, Reuters reports.
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, said he was ready for power and would work to offer hope to people in “forgotten places everywhere.”
“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,” he told a room full of Labour lawmakers and party officials.
“And that’s what we’re going to do, everybody, we’re going to give them hope back.”
He also paid tribute to Keir Starmer, the man he will replace as British prime minister on Monday, when the party will be eager to find out his cabinet team and learn more about his approach to government.
