Andy Burnham elected Labour leader ahead of UK premiership

According to CNBC, Andy Burnham was elected leader of Britain's governing Labour Party on Friday, clearing the way for him to become the country's seventh prime minister in a decade. Burnham, nicknamed the "King of the North," told a special conference that he was ready for power and would work to give hope to people in "forgotten places everywhere." He also paid tribute to Keir Starmer, who he is due to replace as British prime minister on Monday. In his first speech after returning to parliament last month, Burnham said he wanted the "biggest rebalancing of power" from London to Britain's regions and argued that the shift would help reduce inequality and anger in "left-behind communities" that have increasingly backed Reform UK. Nigel Wilcock, executive director at the Institute of Economic Development, said the challenge would be turning that vision into reality.