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Andy Burnham Elected UK Labour Leader. What We Know About Britain's Next Prime Minister’s Ukraine Policy
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Andy Burnham was elected leader of the UK's Labour Party on Friday, July 17, and is set to become the country's next prime minister, The Guardian reported.
The result was announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who described the leadership contest as one that “it’s hardly a nailbitter.”
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"One candidate received 379 nominations. Having reached the threshold of 20% of Labour's parliamentary party, he qualified to proceed to the next stage. Another candidate received one nomination and is not eligible to continue in the process," Mahmood said.
She added that Burnham was also the only candidate to meet the nomination requirements among the trade unions and socialist organizations affiliated with the Labour Party.
“Among the affiliated trade unions and socialist societies, the one eligible candidate received 23 nominations in total. This included nominations from all 11 trade unions, comprising well over 5% of the affiliated membership,” Mahmood said.
“There being no other eligible nominated candidate, it is therefore my honour to declare that the duly elected leader of the Labour party is Andy Burnham,” she announced.
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Who is Andy Burnham
According to the BBC, Burnham previously ran for the party's top position in 2010 and 2015 but was defeated by Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn.
He left Parliament in 2017 after being elected the inaugural Mayor of Greater Manchester. In that role, he built a reputation for overhauling the region's public transport network, bringing it together under the "Bee Network" brand.
Burnham's return to frontline national politics followed Labour's disappointing performance in the May elections, which intensified pressure on party leader Keir Starmer and was accompanied by a wave of ministerial resignations.
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Burnham and Ukraine
Andy Burnham has been actively involved in humanitarian support for Ukraine since the early days of Russia's full-scale invasion.
On February 26, 2022, he sent a letter to Ukrainian mayors expressing his solidarity and support.
“I am writing to express my shock, sorrow and outrage at the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Greater Manchester has strong links with Ukraine and we are home to thousands of people of Ukrainian heritage. Our whole population stands in solidarity with you and your citizens at this terrible time,” Burnham wrote.
On March 10, 2022, the University of Manchester launched an emergency fundraising campaign to support Ukraine.
Burnham also joined Lviv Mayor Andrii Sadovyi and Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram in establishing the UNBROKEN Cities Network.
The initiative was created to support UNBROKEN, Ukraine's national rehabilitation program designed to help the country address the physical and psychological consequences of the war.
In 2024, marking the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion, Burnham reaffirmed his support for Ukraine.
“We made commitments to [the Ukrainian people] two years ago that we would stand with them, and this city region of ours does not make commitments like that lightly… We must not forget Ukraine,” Burnham said at the time.
In April 2026, Burnham and Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram met with a Ukrainian delegation in the United Kingdom that included Andrii Sadovyi and Anatolii Fedoruk.
During the two-day visit to Manchester, the mayors exchanged experience on governing cities under constant missile and drone attacks. The Ukrainian officials shared with their British counterparts how they have maintained the operation of public transport, hospitals, and municipal services during wartime.
Earlier this month, the European Union and the United Kingdom unveiled a coordinated sanctions package on July 14 targeting 24 individuals and entities alleged to be involved in Russia's cyber activities, disinformation efforts, and hybrid operations across Europe.
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