Burnham to be confirmed as UK's next prime minister Monday, becoming the seventh person to hold the office in a decade without public vote.

Popular former Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is set to become Britain's next prime minister on Monday, formally taking over from Keir Starmer, who announced his resignation last month. Only Burnham was able to get enough support from his fellow Labour legislators to take Starmer's place as the party's leader. Labour's leader also becomes the prime minister of the United Kingdom because the party has a majority in the government.

At a special party conference on Friday, Burnham was named Labour leader after winning the backing of 349 out of 401 Labour Party lawmakers. However, he didn't become prime minister immediately; on Monday, he meets with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace to receive the official go-ahead. Starmer continues to serve as interim prime minister until then.
Britain's parliamentary democracy allows governing parties to change leaders mid-term, with the winner becoming prime minister without the need for a general election. Prime ministers can be replaced if they have resigned as leader of their party or been forced out by a leadership challenge. The next national election does not have to be held until 2029, five years from the last election in 2024.

After just two years in office, Starmer announced his resignation as Labour leader on June 22. His term was tainted by a number of political blunders, chief among them the appointment of a man with close ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as Britain's ambassador to the United States. Many parliamentarians demanded Starmer's resignation after Labour suffered significant defeats in a midterm set of municipal elections in May. Additionally, Starmer fell under growing pressure to resign after Burnham, who was favored by many within Labour to lead the party and the nation, won a special election for a seat in Parliament.

His resignation automatically triggered a Labour leadership contest. Under Labour rules, a lawmaker can challenge the leader if they have the backing of a fifth of the party's House of Commons lawmakers. There was no other contestant other than Burnham, who comfortably surpassed that threshold. Burnham will be the 7th prime minister in a decade
In fact, four of the six British prime ministers in the past decade took the top job by winning internal party leadership contests to replace their predecessors, not by public vote.