ANDY BURNHAM is almost guaranteed to become the next prime minister after 322 Labour MPs nominated him to succeed Sir Keir Starmer, amounting to 80 per cent of the parliamentary party.

Almost every Cabinet member backed Mr Burnham, along with former challengers Wes Streeting and Al Carns, with only Steve Reed, Shabana Mahmood and Anna Turley not formally nominating him.

Mr Burnham said he was “deeply grateful” to the MPs who backed him, saying their support “reflects a shared belief that Britain needs a new approach to politics.”

Nominations remain open until July 16, with Mr Burnham expected to be formally declared Labour leader on July 17 and become prime minister on July 20.

As nominations opened, Sir Keir told reporters he thought Mr Burnham would make a good prime minister, saying they had known each other “a long time.”

Following widespread criticism of Mr Burnham’s failure to put forward a tougher stance towards Israel over its genocide in Gaza, he said in a video on social media that his party “didn’t get it right” and Britain had been “too slow to call for a ceasefire.”

He suggested that his government would “do more to strengthen our approach,” including “looking at further sanctions, both on those involved in the violence in Gaza, but also looking at measures to ban trade in goods with illegal settlements.”

A Your Party spokesperson said: “Andy Burnham has acknowledged that Labour got it wrong on Gaza, but voters want action, not words.

“Will Burnham support a public inquiry into British involvement in the Gaza genocide?

“Will he end all UK arms sales and licences to Israel? The victims of this catastrophe deserve truth, accountability and justice.”

Green Party deputy leader Mothin Ali said: “If you asked Andy Burnham whether Russia has committed war crimes in Ukraine, he’d say yes.

“But when it comes to Gaza, he hides behind the international courts because admitting that the British government knows war crimes are being committed would trigger a legal duty to immediately halt arms sales.

“International law is clear: all states have a duty to act to prevent genocide. Not to wait until the slaughter is over before acknowledging that it happened.”