Labour's Andy Burnham officially runs for British Prime Minister with support from 322 MPs of the ruling party

London, July 9 (KUNA) -- The British Labour Party announced that former MP and Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham formally submitted his candidacy today, Thursday, to succeed Keir Starmer, who resigned from his post last month. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) quoted a statement from the ruling party saying that Burnham’s nomination, backed by 322 Labour MPs in the House of Commons (the lower chamber of Parliament), makes him the closest to winning the leadership uncontested. It confirmed that no other person has yet submitted a candidacy against Burnham, although the nomination window will remain open until next Thursday. It added that if Burnham remains the sole candidate, he will be officially installed as leader on the 20th of this month. Starmer announced his resignation three weeks ago amid intense political pressure from MPs in his party and ministers in his government, following the Labour Party’s heavy defeat in the local elections held last May. Prior to that, Starmer faced a series of internal criticisms for backing down on several election pledges that had brought him to power in the July 2024 general election. (End) M.R.N. / S.A.M.