Andy Burnham has taken another leap toward replacing Keir Starmer as UK Prime Minister, after securing 322 nominations from his party. Reform UK's Nigel Farage has also dramatically announced he will resign as a member of parliament, forcing a snap by-election. The populist leader's only confirmed rival in the seat of Clacton is a comedian who goes by the name 'Count Binface'.
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TRANSCRIPT
Andy Burnham has taken another stride toward being the next prime minister of the United Kingdom, after 322 Labour MPs nominated him to take over from Prime Minister Starmer.
Nominations for the Labour leadership remain open until July 16, but Burnham's last possible rival, Al Carns, has ruled himself out of the running, leaving a clear path.
In the absence of any other candidates, Mr Burnham is set to formally take office on July 20.
The Former Greater Manchester Mayor has vowed to deliver radical change to the nation's politics.
“I am going to do things differently. I am going to break with the more of the same approach that has got us here. I am going to give Britain the circuit breaker it needs. By building a more collaborative politics in Westminster, by taking power out of the centre, and putting it in the hands of the people and places who can use it best. And in so doing, creating a new sense of agency, possibility, and hope flowing around the country.”
This is Mr Burnham on June 29, delivering his first major speech after launching his bid for the leadership.
The resounding support from his party is now abundantly clear, with Mr Burnham securing 80 per cent of the party's nominations by 5pm on the first day MPs could formally back his leadership.
In a statement, Mr Burnham says he's "deeply grateful" to all who have nominated him, saying it reflects what he calls a "shared belief that Britain needs a new approach to politics."
He's made clear economic reform is high on his agenda, earlier this month touting his own financial experience.
“I am not indisciplined when it comes to the public finances. I was in the Treasury. I ran the Department of Health, and, we had a very, healthy, it was tight, but we had a very, healthy set of finances. I've run Greater Manchester, the fastest growing city region in the country, for a decade.”
Mr Burnham has vowed to end trickle-down economics, promising "good growth in every postcode."
He's also promised to strengthen the nation's armed forces and defence industry, arguing a more dangerous world requires a renewed focus on 'hard power.'
“The nature of the threats is changing. What I can say to you tonight is I will take my responsibilities fully to fund the Defence Investment Plan. If I'm in the position to do so, I will take those responsibilities extremely seriously. No compromise on the security of the nation more broadly. I just think we need to build the resilience of the country.”
And Reform UK's Nigel Farage is looking to be one of Burnham's biggest political rivals if he does become prime minister.
Farage, who helped persuade Britons to vote to leave the EU in 2016, was elected an MP on his eighth attempt during the July 2024 general election.
Reform UK, which advocates mass deportations of illegal migrants and the scrapping of net zero energy targets, has since led the ruling Labour party in opinion polls.
The populist leader this week dramatically announced he will resign as a member of parliament, forcing a snap by-election.
“This will be a people versus the establishment by-election. It's a chance to stick two fingers up to the entire establishment to frankly, tell them where to go. And that is why I will be putting my name forward to stand in this by election. I will fight to win, I will fight to continue the political revolution that Reform has started.”
The unusual move comes as Farage faces mounting pressure over the non-disclosure of gifts.
He is being investigated by parliament's standards watchdog over $9.6 million dollar [[AUD]] gift from a billionaire investor, which critics say was not properly disclosed.
Farage continues to deny any wrong-doing.
“I haven't broken the law in any way at all, and I'm firmly of the belief, backed up by strong legal opinion, that I have not broken Parliament's rules either. However, as a result of constantly being referred and complained about, it now would appear from the media pile-on and from the political party pile-on that I'm guilty of virtually everything. I'm being painted out to the people in this constituency, frankly, as being a crook.”
Farage's resignation means the probe will be suspended until after the by-election.
But Labour and the Conservative parties have both said they will not field candidates for the Clacton vote.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has dubbed it a blatant effort to distract attention from his financial issues.
“This is a desperate stunt from Nigel Farage, and it's obvious why he's doing it. He is up to his neck in sleaze. Politics should be about improving the lives of millions of people, not about personal gain, not about hiding dodgy donations, and I think the public will see this for exactly what it is.”
Professor of politics at Queen Mary University Tim Bale says it's likely an effort to both distract from the details of the financial allegations, and reframe the narrative ahead of the next election.
“I suspect he is determined to lead the party into the next election and him fighting and winning a by-election is perhaps, you know, his best hope. Of suggesting to people that he is still very much a man alone, you know, fighting the establishment.”
With all major parties declaring their candidates out of the race, Farage faces the embarrassing prospect of going head-to-head with one confirmed candidate- a spoof politician known as 'Count Binface'.
Comedian Jonathan David Harvey has stood in multiple elections in the United Kingdom as Count Binface, wearing a trademark bin-shaped helmet.
Here's Count Binface speaking to media after declaring he would run against Farage.
Reporter: "Do you live in the constituency?" Count Binface: "I do tonight." Reporter: "Well, it sounds as though you don't." Count Binface: "What, do you?" Reporter: "No, of course not. I don't live here, no." Count Binface: "So why should I?" Reporter: "Well, a lot of candidates like to boast that they're local, you're obviously not too concerned about that." Count Binface: "Well, I'm looking at the putative Prime Minister Nigel Farage. He spends more time in America than in Clacton, so why should I?”
For some Clacton residents the whole bi-election is hard to take seriously.
“Well, I think it's a bit of a joke, to be honest. I mean, the public, they've just voted a couple of years ago for him. And also, I understand that a lot of the main political parties aren't even going to stand for this so-called fake by-election, which Kemi Badenoch has stated, quoting her. So I just think that this by-election, it's just a waste of time. It's not really going to achieve anything, because all the main political parties aren't going to go for it.”
Farage comfortably won Clacton in 2024 with a majority of 8,405 and more than 46 per cent of the vote.
If he is re-elected, the probe is expected to resume.
If Farage is found to have breached the rules, he could be suspended from the House of Commons, and another by-election may be triggered.
