9:36
I'm not going to walk away from that. But if there is a contest, just to be clear with you, then yes, I will run. Everyone knows that politics isn't working. But I do say to my own party, this is a final chance to change. The political tide at Westminster turned, and then it surged. Financial bankruptcy, you know, happens you know, gradually then suddenly. Even a few weeks ago, even a couple of weeks ago, I think Keir Starmer thought he could fight on. After months of uncertainty, the pressure became too much for Sir Keir Starmer.
Every decision I've taken has been about putting the country I love first. That is why I will resign as leader of the Labour Party. He swept Labour to power in a landslide victory in 2024, promising stability after a revolving door of Conservative Party leaders. The baton will be handed over. I am resigning. I am sorry. But in the end, he couldn't deliver, and is now the sixth British Prime Minister in just a decade to go.
I think that suggests to me that something else is going on in our country, whether it's, you know, deep unhappiness and inequality, both through class, through regions, through generations. What my book tries to do, I hope, it describes someone who's not a typical politician. Tom Baldwin is close friends with Keir Starmer. The journalist and former Labour Party advisor wrote the Prime Minister's biography. He's changed the Labour Party at a rate of knots while being seen as dull and reassuring, and that may be some sort of superpower. We'll see.
All Prime Ministers make mistakes. If you think of the two biggest mistakes he's made, cutting winter fuel allowance for pensioners, very, very unpopular, and appointing Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington, both of them reversed. As the cost of living crisis crunched and the scandals mounted, Starmer's popularity plummeted. Okay could never really land a message. Um he could never actually make people like him or be pleased to see him. It was really it was tough. So his colleagues looked for an alternative, but the man they wanted, Labour's most popular, Andy Burnham, the
mayor for Greater Manchester, didn't have a seat in Parliament, so they found him one, triggering a by-election in the northwest England seat of Makerfield. I went into politics to fight for ordinary people. His message cut through and he delivered Labour a stunning victory. And I do hereby declare that Andy Burnham is duly elected. Thank you. People here have voted for change. Staving off the march of Nigel Farage's right-wing Reform UK party and giving him a path to number 10. That Andy Burnham had won the Makerfield by-election with such uh an emphatic majority,
he's sort of proven he was able to do what Keir Starmer had been unable to do, which was to hold off reform, um to, you know, win big and also unite the left. Andy Burnham is no stranger to Westminster, serving 16 years in the House of Commons. As a young MP, he was shaped by the tragedy of the Hillsborough football crash of in which killed 96 people. A scandal over police failures followed. He was, I think, genuinely shocked about how much the system was lying, how much the police lied, how much was concealed, how it much against the ordinary fan the system was. And he pushed into like pushed into law, the Hillsborough law,
that gives all people who on the wrong end of the government rights. After two unsuccessful tilts at the Labour leadership, he resigned in 2017. Do you think that Andy Burnham is more relatable because he left Westminster? do think that will help him. That experience of having been outside of the bubble, as you might call it, I think is part of his appeal. And he does, you know, he gets high marks from the public for the work he's done. As he made his way back to Westminster by train, Andy Burnham was reminding the public he's a man of the people.
My priority today is to become sworn in as the mayor, as the MP for Makerfield, and it's been very kind of sad for me today to leave uh Greater Manchester. I swear by almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles. Andy Burnham is now in pole position to bid for the country's top job when the ballot opens next month. With his only other clear rival, former health secretary Wes Streeting, confirming he won't run against him, the contest could be over before it begins. Labour strategist John McTernan formerly advised Julia Gillard during her time as Prime Minister and has known Andy Burnham for decades.
He's got a style and he matches his optimism. And the moment requires a Labour leader with optimism and style and comfort, comfort in his own skin. And I think there were two things which distinguish Andy Burnham from Keir Starmer. One is that people could very practically point to things that Andy Burnham had done which had made their lives better. But also, he's seen as more personable. And when I leave the biggest job in the country, I shall spend more time on the most important job. Being the best husband I can. Thank you very much. As the door on one prime ministership closes, another opens. But Andy Burnham's model of business-friendly socialism is about to face its biggest political challenge.
Not upsetting anybody is 90s politics. In the 2020s, you do have to upset some people, otherwise you will upset everyone. Did an amazing job as mayor of Manchester. But being mayor of Manchester isn't the same as being prime minister.
