New Delhi, July 20 -- LONDON - Andy Burnham, who twice lost Labour leadership contests before spending nearly a decade transforming Greater Manchester into a model for the kind of devolved governance he now plans to bring to Westminster, was confirmed as the United Kingdom's next Prime Minister on July 17 after receiving 379 of a possible 403 nominations from Labour members of Parliament. He takes formal office on Monday, July 21, stepping in for Keir Starmer, who announced his departure after months of declining poll numbers and internal friction over the government's economic direction.

The margin of support reflects less the scale of Burnham's personal popularity within the parliamentary party than the arithmetic of a leadership succe...