London, United Kingdom. Two British Cypriot members of the House of Commons have backed former Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to succeed Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister, according to Labour-affiliated media. Labour List reported that Nesil Caliskan and Bambos Charalambous have nominated Burnham to become the Labour Party’s next leader.
Nominations for leadership
Labour List said Caliskan, the parliamentary undersecretary of state for devolution and MP for Barking, and Charalambous, MP for Southgate and Wood Green, were among 322 of Labour’s 403 MPs to nominate Burnham.
It said a minimum of 81 nominations is required for a candidate to appear on the ballot in a leadership election.
According to the report, if Burnham receives one more nomination before July 16, he will automatically become party leader and prime minister on July 20.
Burnham response
Burnham said late on Thursday night that he is “deeply grateful” to those who “put their trust” in him and nominated him for the party’s leadership.
“Their support comes from across the parliamentary Labour Party and reflects a shared belief that Britain needs a new approach to politics. That is the circuit breaker I am offering: power out of Westminster, an economy rewired for ordinary people, and good growth in every postcode,” he said.
Previous position on Starmer
Caliskan and Charalambous had initially resisted calls for Starmer to resign when almost 100 Labour MPs did so in May, after the party lost almost 1,500 councillors in the United Kingdom’s local elections and lost control of the Welsh government for the first time since the Welsh devolved authority was created in 1999.
In the aftermath of those elections, Caliskan was appointed to her current undersecretary role, replacing Miatta Fahnbulleh, who had resigned in an effort to urge Starmer to step down.
Charalambous was also among more than 100 Labour MPs who signed a letter urging Starmer to remain in post, though at least one Labour MP whose name appeared among the signatories denied having signed it.
Path for Burnham to enter Parliament
Shortly afterwards, Labour MP Josh Simons resigned his seat to trigger a by-election and allow Burnham, then Manchester mayor and described as the Labour Party’s most popular politician, to stand for election and become an MP.
