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Andy Burnham has given his first speech as Labour leader before taking over from Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister.
The former Greater Manchester mayor was confirmed as leader in a special party conference in central London at lunchtime on Friday.
In his speech, the Makerfield MP pledged to devolve power from Westminster and Whitehall and “give back hope”.
Earlier, a delivery van was seen at Downing Street as Mr Burnham prepares to take over from Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister on Monday.
The new leader is already facing complaints from left-wing MPs over suggestions he will make Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who is on the right of the Labour party, his Chancellor.
On Friday Mr Burnham said he is still “finalising” who will be in his Cabinet, with the announcements set to be made on Monday.
Follow the latest updates below....
Key points
Andy Burnham face's growing warning hiking "sky-high" taxes will damage London When will Andy Burnham become the next PM? Burnham faces left-wing revolt from MPs over 'bizarre' choice of Shabana Mahmood as potential Chancellor Who will be Andy Burnham's Chancellor? Burnham's Cabinet: Who could he choose and who will be demoted? Andy Burnham's speech in full as new Labour Party leader declares: 'I have a plan' Who is Marie-France van Heel? What we know about Andy Burnham's wife Andy Burnham pledges to devolve power away from Westminster Burnham insists he's not just for the north but 'for the south too'Live updates
Coverage ends
We’re ending our live coverage of today’s hugely significant day in UK politics, when Andy Burnham officially became the leader of the Labour Party.
As a result, on Monday the Makerfield MP will become the Prime Minister.
Visit Standard.co.uk through the weekend and on Monday for the latest developments.
Thanks for joining us.
Andy Burnham still deciding who will be in his Cabinet
Andy Burnham said he “finalising” who will be in his Cabinet.
Mr Burnham is to take over from Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister on Monday, when he is set to name his top team.
Asked why he had not announced his top team, the new Labour leader said: "It would be somewhat premature and would, I think, cause complete chaos if you start half a reshuffle before you're in the position."
The incoming PM went on to insist that "the decisions will be made very shortly and it will be done in the usual way".
He hit out at the "speculation", and said he wanted to first set out on Friday "what I would do, because that's what the country wants to hear".
He said: "They don't want to hear all the obsession on who's up and who's down and personalities and all the rest of it.
"There's a place for that, but not before I've set out really clearly what I intend to do in this role. And I've said it today, I have a plan, I've laid it out, and now we can then move on to those issues."
Pushed on if he genuinely has not decided who he wants in his cabinet, Burnham said: "I am finalising those decisions, and I will come to conclusions very shortly, and then I will announce those on Monday. So that's the normal way.
"People want everything earlier these days, and there's lots of speculation, but that's the orderly way to do it. And I have done it, I believe, in the right way. I'm not in the job yet, but when I am, I will do it in the proper way."
There has been widespread speculation about Burnham's cabinet picks, with Ed Miliband and Shabana Mahmood thought to be in the running to replace Rachel Reeves as chancellor.
Andy Burnham with his wife Marie-France van Heel (right), Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell (left) and Home Secretary and Chair of Labour's National Executive Committee Shabana Mahmood (centre) PABurnham vows to ‘grasp nettle’ of adult social care reform in England
Andy Burnham has vowed to “grasp the nettle” of adult social care reform – as a health charity warned his words will be “a benchmark against which his Government will be measured”.
Mr Burnham, having been formally declared Labour leader on Friday, said the “broken social care system” in England is “the worst of all worlds” and insisted it is a “massive” priority for the public.
The PM-in-waiting – who will take up his role in Number 10 on Monday – acknowledged reform will “require something difficult”, after his efforts to do so more than a decade ago failed.
His plans in 2010 to overhaul social care for the elderly with the creation of a national care service for England were turned against Labour by the Conservatives, who claimed they would levy a “death tax” to pay for it.
“The minute that poster landed with the gravestones, that was it. My reforms were dead,” Mr Burnham later admitted.
Now he has pledged to “expend political capital” during his premiership on what he said has been a long-neglected sector – accusing Westminster of having “flinched” from such big decisions for too long.
Name-checking the issue in his first speech after formally replacing Sir Keir Starmer as Labour leader, he told a special conference in London on Friday: “Let’s take a problem-solving rather than a point-scoring approach.
“Let’s have the courage to fix the big things that politics has neglected, like social care, and have the conviction to go out there together and argue for our plans.”
How adult social care works and is funded in England has been a thorny issue for many governments over the years.
Unlike NHS care, social care is not free at the point of use and high costs sometimes mean people are forced to sell their homes to pay for what they need.
People with savings worth more than £23,250 are not entitled to help with the cost of care from their local council.
Andy Burnham gives a speech on Gravesend Town Pier, as he makes his first official visit as Leader of the Labour Party GettyWatch: Nigel Farage says 'Britain is broken' as he slams Andy Burnham
Watch the moment Nigel Farage tore into Andy Burnham at a speech he gave at the CPAC conference in London this afternoon.
The Reform UK leader called for a general election as he slammed the incoming Prime Minister.
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Nigel Farage slams incoming Chancellor
Though Andy Burnham has not yet announced his cabinet, rumours have been rife about who might move into Number 11.
But Nigel Farage has slammed the potential candidates in his speech at the CPAC conference.
Mr Farage said whether the Chancellor was Shabana Mahmood, Ed Miliband, or Rachel Reeves, Britain would “get a Chancellor who has never ever worked in private business.”
“Is it any wonder that our economy is in the depths of the trouble that it is?” he said.
You can read The Standard’s analysis of who might be the next Chancellor here:
Who will be Andy Burnham's Chancellor?
New favourite emerges to replace Rachel Reeves in Number 11
Farage claims Reform UK is 'dominant force of centre-right politics in Britain'
Nigel Farage has claimed Reform UK is the 'dominant force of centre-right politics in Britain'.
He added that his party was the biggest in the country by membership, calling it “remarkable” that Reform had disrupted a typically two-party system.
At the CPAC conference in London, Mr Farage said he believed that Reform UK could win the next general election.
“I believe a historic upset is on the cards. I believe the British people have simply had enough of weak, gutless, spineless leadership that cares more about opinion in the international community than it cares about the collective good of the people living in this country,” he said.
Nigel Farage calls for general election
Nigel Farage has called for a general election at the CPAC conference in London.
The Reform UK leader said: “The only good and decent and right thing to do given where we are, with a new Prime Minister coming in, that none of you have had the opportunity to vote for or against, is that there must be an immediate general election so that the country can decide the future.”
Throughout his speech, Mr Farage reiterated that Mr Burnham had come in “with absolutely no mandate of any kind at all” in what “is supposed to be one of the world’s best and oldest and most functioning democracies.”
He added that “nothing will get better under Andy Burnham”.
The Reform UK leader hit out at the incoming Prime Minister, suggesting that “on immigration, he’s never shown the slightest concern about what’s going on” and that there “was not a hope in hell” that Andy Burnham would take Britain out the ECHR.
Nigel Farage calls for general electionPAAndy Burnham praises Starmer but says there is 'more change to bring'
Andy Burnham has praised his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer at his first rally as Labour leader earlier this afternoon.
The incoming Prime Minister said: “He leaves a legacy of a country that will be about justice and fairness going forward, and that is a huge thing.”
But went on to say that “we’ve got much more change to bring.”
Andy Burnham Makes First Official Visit As Leader Of The Labour PartyGettyTories argue Burnham should set out his plan in the Commons
Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake has argued that Andy Burnham should set out his plan in the Commons.
He said: “Andy Burnham says he has a plan, so what is it? The leader of the Labour party, and soon-to-be prime minister, should come to parliament and explain it.
“Instead, the government spared his blushes by cancelling the Conservatives’ vote that would have brought him before parliament on Monday.
“It’s not too late for Andy Burnham to do the right thing, make a statement, and answer questions from Members of Parliament on Monday about his ‘plan’.
“But the truth is that, whether it is Keir Starmer or Andy Burnham, the real problem is the high-tax, high-spend Labour MPs behind them.”
Mr Hollinrake argued Mr Burnham should set out plan in the CommonsGetty'Andy Burnham looked at his notes 266 times' claims Farage
Nigel Farage claimed that Mr Burnham looked down at his notes 266 times in his inaugural speech as Labour leader earlier today.
He suggested that a political leader incapable of “stringing a couple of sentences together might be doing the job more out of personal ambition than out of conviction and belief for the country.”
Mr Farage added that he didn’t “need to be in politics” and that he was doing this out of “fear” that Britain was “going down the drain”.
He also suggested that taxes would rise under Burnham and that the incoming Labour leader would deliver “more of the same”.
Nigel Farage claimed Mr Burnham looked at his notes 266 timesPALatest updatesOlder updates