Andy Burnham declared Labour Party leader, will become U.K. prime minister

Andy Burnham was officially declared leader of Britain’s governing Labour Party on Friday, clearing his final hurdle to taking office as prime minister next week.

The center-left party announced the result of a leadership contest to replace departing Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in which Burnham was the only contender.

The announcement was a forgone conclusion after he secured nominations from 379 of the 403 Labour lawmakers in the House of Commons as of Thursday night.

Starmer had been under mounting pressure to resign for weeks, following a disastrous round of local elections for his party in early May, but his decision came after a political rival from within Labour. Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, has been prime minister-in-waiting for weeks, but he has revealed little detail about his policy priorities. He will arrive in Number 10 Downing Street largely unknown to voters outside Manchester. 

Burnham has previously criticized President Trump, accusing the American leader of bringing “instability” to the world. 

This is a developing story and will be updated.