According to the rules, a candidate must gather support from at least 20 percent of the party's members in the House of Commons in London. Currently, that is 81 members. But Burnham has now gathered support from so many that it is mathematically impossible for anyone else to take part in the leadership election.
No other Labour politician has put himself forward to succeed Keir Starmer, who after a series of political setbacks recently announced that he is resigning as party leader and thus as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
56-year-old Burnham is called the "King in the North" because he built his popularity in northern England as mayor of the Greater Manchester metropolitan area.
