Andy Burnham has officially become the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, after being appointed Leader of the Labour Party on Friday.
Having sailed through the party’s leadership election, the former Mayor of Greater Manchester was selected to lead Labour after Keir Starmer’s resignation. With Starmer announcing his resignation in June, Burnham had been in pole position for the role almost immediately, especially after receiving the backing of other senior members of the party that would have been best placed to stand against him.
Burnham becomes the seventh Prime Minister that the country has had in the last ten years after a succession of Conservative leaders towards the end of their stint in power, and then Keir Starmer’s premiership following the 2024 General Election.
In his acceptance speech on Friday, Burnham said:
“We can be the party that puts more power in people’s hands, drive good growth in every postcode, and puts hope in every heart. That gets the country pulling together again and moves beyond the divisions of recent years.
“All people and all places, public and private sectors, in a new sense of unity and common cause. That’s my mission as your new leader: to bring back hope. I believe in all of you and I am confident we can do it.”
With the Labour Party leadership election completed, today saw the end of Sir Keir Starmer’s Premiership. Delivering his farewell speech outside 10 Downing Street, the former Prime Minister said that his ‘work is done.’ Outlining the threats that the nation faces, and acknowledging the hard work of people around the country to ensure that those threats do not jeopardise our national way of life, Starmer gave his backing to his successor.
Less than two hours after his predecessor left Downing Street to tender his resignation to the King, Andy Burnham arrived on the scene to deliver his first speech as the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. Greeted by cheers and applause, Burnham reiterated his message that he will work to put power in the hands of every postcode, saying:
“Many feel as though they’re still in decline and they don’t have the ability to turn things around, and that’s why we will change politics, to make it more collaborative, more about problem-solving than point scoring.
“We will take power out of here (Westminster) and carry it into every postcode in the land, so that they can do more, and in doing more, build a new economy where we put life’s essentials back under stronger public control to make them affordable to you again.”
Burnham also touched on some of the policies that will drive his government, outlining how he will put forward a new plan to deliver for people, however he also understood the need for immediate action. With this, the new Prime Minister said that his first instruction will be to end rough sleeping around the country.
“I can do something to give people some breathing space now,” Burnham said about the cost of living. “I will set out some of those measures starting tomorrow, including how we pay for them.”
