Britain’s seventh PM in a decade pledged main adjustments in bid to see off populist forces which can be making massive good points.
Revealed On 20 Jul 2026
Andy Burnham has set out his imaginative and prescient for Britain as he took over as prime minister.
Burnham’s appointment was confirmed on Monday as he met King Charles III at Buckingham Palace. Turning into the UK’s seventh premier in a decade, he pledged to finish the political instability that has plagued the nation and promised to instigate main change.
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Burnham replaces Keir Starmer, who was ousted simply two years after profitable a landslide election victory amid ongoing good points by populist forces.
“Britain wants to point out the world that we will regain our stability as soon as once more,” Burnham mentioned after arriving at his official residence, 10 Downing Road in London, to rapturous applause. “Now we have not been ok and we must be higher,” he mentioned.
The previous mayor of Greater Manchester mentioned he was “fed up” with the nation’s revolving door of management, which ought to invite “a second for reflection and new decision” for British politics.
Starmer was ousted by his friends a few month in the past. On leaving workplace, he labelled his work as prime minister “the privilege of my life” and mentioned that Burnham has his “full help”.
Burnham didn’t consult with Starmer in his speech, as an alternative specializing in how he will implement change.
“We are going to make this second a circuit-breaker for Britain, bringing ahead the most important adjustments within the final 40 years. A brand new political mannequin and a brand new financial mannequin,” Burnham declared.
Promising Britons “some respiratory area now”, he promised to announce measures this week to assist deal with the price of dwelling.
The primary instruction he’ll challenge is “to finish tough sleeping in our nation”.
A ten-year plan for the nation would come later in 2026, he added.
Concerning international coverage, Burnham mentioned Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shall be one of many first international leaders he’ll converse with to guarantee him that British help will stay “resolute” underneath his premiership.
“I shall be with him [Zelenskyy] one hundred pc, as Keir Starmer has been, and Keir has performed fairly an unimaginable job in not simply backing Ukraine however being there in a private manner,” Burnham mentioned. “And I shall be completely there for him in the identical manner.”
The brand new PM additionally indicated he would have an early name with United States President Donald Trump.
Burnham is more likely to announce his senior cupboard appointments shortly, with give attention to who will substitute Rachel Reeves as finance minister.
The “King of the North”, as Burnham has been nicknamed attributable to his time main Manchester and supporting working class points, has been backed by the Labour Social gathering because the occasion’s finest probability of reining in Nigel Farage’s populist, anti-immigration occasion Reform UK.
Simply two years after centre-left Labour received a landslide in elections, Reform leads within the polls, with the following nationwide vote due in 2029.
