“I will fight as hard for the people of Greater Manchester as I fought for those Hillsborough families in their quest for justice”, Burnham said today.
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And he vowed to “win back voters across Greater Manchester that we’ve lost”.
“You and your party have made promises to people in the North of England and I will not let you walk away from them”.
Speaking during a question-and-answer session with the media, Mr Burnham reiterated his belief that now is not the “right time for a leadership election” as he committed to remaining neutral during the fight between Mr Corbyn and Owen Smith.
Party members had until Friday to cast their vote for their preferred candidate.
Now he’s won the selection as Labour’s candidate, the Leigh MP is in poll position to come top in next May’s mayoral election as well.
It is widely expected that Burnham will now secure the mayoral position.
The MP wants to be Manchester’s first elected mayor.
The mayor will oversee transport, skills training, housing and local healthcare briefs, as well as a £900m investment fund to spend over the next 30 years.
Labour has also confirmed its candidate for the contest in the West Midlands.
Liverpool’s metro region, also a Labour stronghold, will declare its party candidate at 10am tomorrow.
Mr Burnham’s confirmation that he was considering the role raised eyebrows because it became public at 10pm on local election night in May.
The Liverpool-born politician, who has been Leigh MP since 2001, won 51% of the vote of Labour members.
He served in the Tony Blair and Gordon Brown governments, holding the posts of culture secretary and health secretary.
However, Mr Burnham said he would be standing down as MP, and therefore from the shadow cabinet, at the “earliest opportunity” if he became mayor.
Pledges: Restore nursing bursaries the Tories cut, take control of Manchester’s welfare budget and use a £300m housing fund on buying properties for the hard-up.
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Greater Manchester police and crime commissioner and former MP for Stretford Tony Lloyd has been the region’s interim mayor since his appointment in May 2015. You might think he is getting ahead of himself, considering he has only won Labour’s nomination for Greater Manchester mayor – he hasn’t actually got the job.
