Andy Burnham becomes Britain’s seventh PM in a decade
Updated ,first published
LondonBritish Prime Minister Andy Burnham vowed to “bring hope back” to the country after ascending to leadership in a meeting with King Charles and declared the people deserved better from a new generation of politicians.
When she arrived at her official residence at 10 Downing Street to make her first speech as prime minister in front of hundreds of reporters, Burnham promised to help with living expenses within her first 24 hours on the job.
“We are not good enough, we have to be better,” he said. “We will.”
The formal transfer of power ended after previous prime minister Keir Starmer visited King Charles at Buckingham Palace for a private meeting and King Charles formally resigned.
This meeting paved the way for Burnham to visit the King soon after and be invited to form the government, elevating him to the top post.
In a brief statement, the King confirmed that Burnham had accepted the invitation and “kissed hands upon her appointment”; this is the traditional language used to describe a prime minister who accepts the monarch’s invitation to lead the government.
While official events were broadcast live on many television networks and the internet, a helicopter flew overhead to capture the moments on a hot summer’s day in London.
Speaking outside Downing Street without notes or a podium after the palace meeting, Burnham said she was “absolutely” aware that she was the seventh prime minister since 2016.
“My generation of politicians need to step up our game and take on new challenges,” he said.
“Britain needs to show the world that we can regain our stability once again, and that is our challenge: to make politics work, to make it work better.”
Burnham spoke directly into the main television camera to personally reassure the British people that she would do better than previous prime ministers.
“I know people at home are fed up with politics. I hear you,” he said, promising to deliver a “circuit breaker” for a system he said had been misguided since the 1980s.
Burnham promised to decentralize power from London, re-industrialize the economy, end sleeplessness, ensure stronger public control of key industries, build more homes and improve mental health support.
It said it would offer assistance with living expenses within the first 24 hours, under a funded government policy.
“This is about putting the right values and the right standards at the heart of government,” he said.
“I will put caring for people at the center of everything I do. I will give it my all and I ask you all to follow suit.
“Let’s build a new sense of national unity, common purpose and positivity. Let’s do this in the moment when Britain begins to believe again, in the moment when we bring back hope.”
With these words, he entered 10 Downing Street with his wife, Marie-France van Heel, and was greeted by senior political staff and other advisers.
Earlier, Starmer had left the official residence to give his final address as prime minister in front of dozens of ministerial colleagues, staff and family members, including his wife Victoria.
“My job is done. In 6.5 years, I saved our party from the historic defeat in 2019, made it fit to face the country and won a landslide general election victory in 2024,” he said.
“It has been the privilege of my life to serve you and this great country as prime minister ever since, and I am confident that Britain is stronger and fairer than it was two years ago.”
Starmer said he had Burnham’s “full support”.
“As I now pass the baton to Andy Burnham, I wish him every success,” he said.
“I leave with good grace, I leave with a smile, and I am proud of everything we have accomplished.”
After being hugged by his wife and hugging some of his supporters, Starmer walked with Victoria to a waiting car and headed towards the palace to see the King.
Buckingham Palace confirmed shortly afterwards that Charles was “delighted to accept” Starmer’s resignation; The same phrase used in statements about the departure of previous prime ministers.
The meetings at Buckingham Palace officially concluded a long fight within the Labor Party to replace Starmer following growing discontent with his leadership and a year of planning by Burnham and her allies to seize power within the party.
Burnham, who was appointed to the top job on Monday, becomes the country’s seventh prime minister since 2016.
While he has broad ambitions in speeches and interviews, he has yet to name cabinet ministers and resolve disagreements among his supporters over who will take on the important Treasury post of chancellor of the finance ministry.
Given that the country’s net public debt is £2.9 trillion ($5.6 trillion) (equivalent to 95 percent of annual economic output) and rising, bond market investors are closely watching the cabinet decision.
Burnham, who has spent the last nine years as mayor of Greater Manchester, set out the broad themes of his plans in a speech three weeks ago, knowing he had enough people within the Labor Party to run a government.
“We will create a more orderly state with a clearer purpose to deliver energy to every part of the country and to have a laser-like focus on growth and renewal – good growth,” he said.
But Burnham attracted attention by pledging to change some of the powers of 10 Downing Street in London (near the major civil service departments around Whitehall) so that a new government unit would be responsible for northern England and other areas outside the capital.
Burnham called his proposed new office “Number 10 North”, and this phrase dominated media coverage of his speech, although he did not specify any details of how it would work.
Labor has 403 seats in the House of Commons, giving it a comfortable majority. The Conservative Party has 117 seats, the Liberal Democrats have 71 seats, Reform England has 7 seats, and the Greens have 5 seats. The rest consists of small parties and independents.
But while divisions within the Labor parliamentary party have weakened the government, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has made big gains in local government elections and has risen in opinion polls as a potential prime minister.
Burnham’s rise began in earnest on 19 May, when she overcame resistance from Starmer’s allies and won the party’s approval to stand as the Labor candidate in a by-election for the seat of Makerfield, which she won on 19 June.
Starmer announced that he would resign on June 22. With Labor MPs making clear they want a new leader, Starmer has set up an internal party timetable to decide who will replace him. Burnham was the only candidate when party officials called for nominations; This was an extraordinary development, considering that he had become a member of the House of Commons only a few days earlier.
While Burnham becomes the seventh prime minister in nearly a decade, he is also described as the sixth prime minister in the last 10 years.
Former Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron resigned 10 years and a week ago on July 13, 2016. He was followed by Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak from the Conservative Party. They were followed by Starmer and Burnham.
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David Crowe is the European correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect with: X or email.
