The former mayor of Greater Manchester is unopposed in the race to replace Sir Keir Starmer.

Andy Burnham has taken another step towards becoming the next Labour leader and prime minister, after the vast majority of Labour MPs nominated him to replace Sir Keir Starmer. Burnham's Labour leadership bid has been backed by 322 Labour MPs as he remains the only declared candidate after nominations began on Thursday. If no one else enters the contest, as expected, Burnham will be declared Labour leader next week before taking office as prime minister on 20 July. It would mark an extraordinary rise to power following the former Greater Manchester mayor's by-election win in Makerfield just weeks ago. His by-election victory and heavy Labour losses in May's local elections left Sir Keir facing calls from his own MPs for him to stand aside and allow Burnham to replace him. Sir Keir quit as Labour leader on the same day Burnham was sworn in as an MP, saying in his resignation speech he had heard the answer to the question of whether "I am best placed to lead us into the next general election". Candidates have until Wednesday next week to gather the required backing of 81 Labour MPs in order to take part in the leadership race. Burnham is currently just one short of securing 323 nominations, which is when it is mathematically impossible for a rival to reach the 81-MP threshold needed to run against him.