'I am ready' Andy Burnham insists as he pledges he will be PM 'for the North, South, East and West'
'Change starts with honesty,' Burnham vowed, as the PM-in-waiting was confirmed as the new Labour Party leader
Andy Burnham today insisted he is 'ready' to become Prime Minister, delivering a message of hope and unity as he vowed to be "a leader for the North, the South, the East and the West".
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Speaking from a special party conference in London where he was declared Labour Party leader, the Makerfield MP said the country is "crying out" for a new sort of politics, promising to forge a path that is "distinctly Labour".
Calling time on attempts to "out-Green the Greens or out-Reform Reform", he urged his party to forge its own path and to "stop wearing the Tories' clothes".
Burnham has also said he would announce his Cabinet on Monday, insisting that revealing ministerial appointments before he enters No 10 would cause “complete chaos”.
The newly appointed MP for Makerfield took the party reins during Friday's special conference at the Trades Union Congress headquarters in central London.
Britain gets a new Prime Minister on Monday. Stay with the LBC app for full live coverage as Andy Burnham takes the keys to Downing Street.
Read more: Burnham to forge new path as Labour leader - with departing Starmer insisting: 'I go with pride'
It marks the final step before replacing Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister next week.
"We are united," Burnham insisted of his party from behind his lectern, branding it a "last chance" for Labour.
"We’re going to give them hope back," Mr Burnham added.
A resounding message of hope, optimism and unity, Burnham attempted to put concerns over his lack of national leadership experience to bed, as he highlighted the politicians that had shaped him as a Labour representative.
Taking time to thank Neil Kinnock, Margaret Beckett and David Blunkett, he insisted: "I know what I believe after 25 years as an elected Labour representative, and I know what I want to do after 25 years; I have a plan."
Branding party in-fighting and Westminster's briefing culture an "indulgence" that has no place under his premiership, the PM-in-waiting delivered a message centred around unity.
He also urged fellow Labour MPs, Burnham to choose "problem scoring rather than points scoring" and seek "common ground" in politics.
That way, Burnham added, "political discourse becomes that little bit less toxic".
The new Labour leader also touched on the speculation surrounding his potential new cabinet, with Burnham telling the conference he is yet to decide his cabinet, but promising to reveal his top team "soon".
"I am a leader for the North, the South, the East, the West, for Scotland, and for Wales, and for Northern Ireland, " Mr Burnham added, as he attempted to unite the UK.
He said the Labour movement which backed him “heard the call from the people of Makerfield on behalf of forgotten places everywhere up and down this country for a return of the Labour they once knew.”
"I am ready," Burnham insisted of Monday's appointment as Prime Minister.
Making a positive nod to the outgoing PM Sir Keir Starmer, Burnham emphasised his readiness "to lead and build on the foundation laid by one person more than any other".
"Keir put Labour back in a position to change peoples’ lives," Burnham insisted.
"Today we thank Keir for his services to our party and to our country".
He has also said he “wasn’t in the position to be involved” in the Parliamentary Labour Party’s decision to oust Sir Keir Starmer from Downing Street.
Asked whether it was right for him to be talking about ending Labour infighting after just toppling the outgoing Prime Minister, he told reporters: “Well, there was obviously a decision taken by the PLP.
“It wasn’t by me… I wasn’t in Parliament. I wasn’t in the position to be involved in that in terms of the decisions that the PLP came to. But obviously, in politics, you have to respond to the big moments.
“The May elections were a big moment, but it was up to our Members of Parliament, and obviously I then responded.”
Asked if knew in his own mind who his Chancellor would be, he said:“I am finalising those decisions, and I will come to conclusions very shortly, and then I will announce those on Monday.
“So that’s the normal way. You know, people want everything earlier these days, and there’s lots of speculation, but that’s the orderly way to do it, and I have done it I believe in the right way.
“I’m not in the job yet, but when I am, I will do it in the proper way.”
Burnham praised Sir Keir legacy but said he had “much more change to bring”.
The new Labour leader said at a stump speech in Gravesend, Kent: “Obviously, we’ve already brought change. We’ve obviously got our MPs here today.
“We’ve been working hard with the Labour Government, and we’ve changed things already.
“We’ve brought NHS waiting lists down, finally getting going in the right direction.
“They’ve been going in the wrong direction since I was the health secretary a long time ago, but it’s good to see that change coming through.
“Rights for workers, rights for renters, rail renationalised – that was a really important thing that the Government has done – and only this week we passed the Hillsborough law… so no one in this country goes through what they did.”
The former Greater Manchester mayor returned to Westminster as Makerfield MP last month and gained overwhelming support from Labour MPs to take over from Sir Keir as party leader after he announced his resignation.
Mr Burnham, who stood in the by-election with the intention of ousting the Prime Minister, said he wanted to eradicate “infighting”, the “insidious briefing culture” and the “factionalism” that has “bedevilled” the party.
Insisting he had “supported all our Labour leaders in my lifetime”, the new leader said: “We won’t beat Britain’s new right if we are consumed by infighting and pulling in different directions. That is, and always has been, an indulgence that falls heaviest on the people who need Labour most.”
Mr Burnham said he would seek more cross-party consensus, saying that could make political discourse “that little bit less toxic”.
He pledged to “set a direction that is distinctively Labour”, adding: “We won’t try to outgreen the Greens or out-Reform Reform, or doing what we’ve done in the past of wearing too many Tory clothes.”