Andy Burnham will become Britain’s prime minister on Monday after replacing Keir Starmer as Labour leader. His arrival shifts attention to political stability, Cabinet choices and whether he can deliver results.
Andy Burnham will take office as the UK prime minister on Monday, succeeding Keir Starmer after winning the Labour Party leadership. His arrival is expected to bring, at least for the moment, a more orderly phase to British politics after years of frequent leadership changes.
Burnham will become Britain’s seventh prime minister since 2016 after replacing Starmer as leader of the centre-left governing Labour Party on Friday. A spokesperson said Burnham will say in his first speech as prime minister that he is “acutely aware” of how many leadership changes the country has seen over the past decade, and will pledge to restore stability.
Starmer had struck a similar note when he took office two years ago. Last month, he said he would resign after what were described as missteps and errors of judgment that weakened his standing with both his party and the public. Burnham was the only candidate in the contest to replace him, winning nominations from 379 of Labour’s 403 lawmakers in the House of Commons.
On Monday morning, Starmer will travel from Downing Street to Buckingham Palace to formally tell King Charles III that he is resigning. Soon after, Burnham will go to the palace, where the king will ask him to form a government. He will officially become prime minister in a ceremony known as “kissing hands”. The practice dates back to a time when the monarch exercised supreme power and chose the prime minister. Today, the king has no political power, but still formally offers the post to the leader of the party that can command a majority in the House of Commons. No hand-kissing is involved.
Under Britain’s parliamentary system, a governing party can change its leader, and therefore its prime minister, without holding a general election. The next national poll does not have to take place until 2029, although Burnham can call one earlier. After the palace ceremony, Burnham will return to Downing Street, where new prime ministers traditionally make a short speech outside the official residence.
The former mayor of Greater Manchester has promised to make politics “less toxic”, improve living standards across the country and “bring back the hope we have all been missing”. After becoming Labour leader on Friday, he said: “I will work to build a new politics. The country is crying out for it.” Attention is now expected to shift quickly to how he plans to deliver on those promises and who he will appoint to his Cabinet. He is expected to make changes to Starmer’s top team, especially in the key posts of Treasury chief, foreign secretary and home secretary, though Burnham said on Friday that he had not made a final decision.
Joshi Herrmann, founder of Manchester news site The Mill, said the challenge would be turning those promises into results. “Fundamentally, it only will work if you can generate significant economic growth, because it’s the lack of growth that’s really holding the country back,” he said. In his first speech as Labour leader, Burnham praised Starmer’s record and said he would “build on the foundation laid” by his predecessor. Starmer, who became Labour leader in 2020 after the party’s worst election defeat and led it to a landslide win four years later, defended his government’s record in his final Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday. He pointed to support for Ukraine, stronger protections for working people, a fall in child poverty, a law aimed at preventing official cover-ups after tragedies, and higher defence spending. “I am proud to leave this country in a better shape than I found it,” he said.
Burnham now takes charge after an uncontested rise to the Labour leadership, with a formal handover due on Monday and early focus set to fall on stability, Cabinet choices and whether he can turn his promises into action.
With PTI Inputs
