By Elizabeth Piper
LONDON, July 17 (Reuters) - Andy Burnham, nicknamed the 'King of the North', will become leader of Britain's governing Labour Party on Friday, the final step before becoming its seventh prime minister in a decade on a pledge to thwart the rise of the populist Reform UK.
At a 'special conference' on Friday, Burnham, who earned the regal moniker for his determination as mayor of Greater Manchester to defend the region's interests, will be elected after gaining overwhelming support from Labour lawmakers.
The event is little more than a formality before he replaces Keir Starmer as Britain's leader on Monday, when the party will be eager to find out his cabinet team and learn more about his approach to government.
BURNHAM'S BIG 'REBALANCING OF POWER'
Burnham, 56, has given one speech since returning to parliament last month by winning a parliamentary seat in Makerfield, the start of a four-week process to install him as prime minister and remove Starmer, whose unpopularity across Britain turned his lawmakers against him.
In it, he sketched out some of his domestic agenda, saying he wanted to oversee the "biggest rebalancing of power" from London to Britain's regions - something he believes will reduce inequality and reduce the anger felt by 'left-behind communities' who have increasingly flocked to Reform.
That message of having a plan to thwart the rise of Reform won over Labour lawmakers, who feared they would lose their parliamentary seats to veteran Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage's populist party, which has topped the opinion polls for months, at the next national election, due by 2029.
Some of that sheen has been tarnished in recent weeks by Farage's acceptance of funds from wealthy donors, perhaps giving Burnham an opening to revive Labour's fortunes.
Yet he does not have much time.
With a general election no more than three years away, Burnham will need to start implementing some of his pledges, many of which are based on long-term thinking, as fast as possible.
Nigel Wilcock, executive director at the Institute of Economic Development, an independent body representing economic development professionals, said Burnham had spent years making the case for a different approach to economic growth:
"The challenge is turning that vision into a reality."
(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
