Andy Burnham on course to be British PM in weeks after Keir Starmer quits – POLITICO

LONDON — Andy Burnham, the man widely expected to replace Keir Starmer as U.K. prime minister, is on course to be running the country within weeks after a key rival for the Labour leadership folded and endorsed him.

Starmer announced his resignation as British prime minister Monday morning, bowing to pressure after Burnham, the popular former mayor of Greater Manchester, resoundingly won a by-election that would let him challenge for the leadership of the governing Labour Party.

In an at-times tearful statement outside No.10 Downing Street, Starmer — who has battled dire poll ratings and collapsing support among his own members of parliament — said he had informed King Charles III of his decision to quit.