PBS NewsHour

Andy Burnham declared leader of UK’s Labour Party

Andy Burnham officially took over as head of the United Kingdom’s governing Labour Party on Friday, a final step on his path to being the next British prime minister. The former mayor of Greater Manchester was the only contender in the party’s leadership contest after winning wide support among Labour lawmakers in Parliament. He will replace outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who faced growing anger over his handling of the economy and a number of leadership missteps. In his first speech in the new role, Burnham pledged to “fix the big things that politics has neglected.” “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 said. Burnham faces a daunting task ahead amid sluggish economic growth and deep political divisions. He’s set to officially become the country’s 59th prime minister on Monday. Watch PBS News for daily, breaking and live news, plus special coverage. We are home to PBS News Hour, ranked the most credible and objective TV news show. Sign up for Here's The Deal with Lisa Desjardins: https://to.pbs.org/41q6E8i Subscribe for exclusive content in our newsletters: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/subscribe PBS News podcasts: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/podcasts Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG Find more from PBS News at https://www.pbs.org/newshour Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6 Follow us: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pbsnews X: http://www.twitter.com/newshour Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/newshour Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/newshour/