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Burnham takes office
Andy Burnham became Britain’s seventh prime minister since 2016 on Monday after King Charles III formally appointed him, with Burnham speaking outside 10 Downing St. minutes later.
Burnham, 56 and former mayor of Greater Manchester, pledged to ease the cost of living for ordinary people, decentralize political power, revitalize industry, and end street sleeping by homeless people.
Keir Starmer, who had said his work was done, left Downing Street before formally handing in his resignation as prime minister, telling the country it was “stronger and fairer than it was two years ago.”
The handover followed Starmer’s announcement that he would resign, and the palace said Charles “requested him to form a new Administration” before Burnham “kissed hands upon his appointment as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury.”
Cabinet reshuffle begins
Burnham’s first day focused on forming his government, with the key post of chancellor of the exchequer going to John Healey, the former defense secretary who quit the previous government over funding plans for his department.
Others leaving the Cabinet included David Lammy, who was deputy prime minister, and Rachel Reeves, with the AP noting Healey replaced Reeves as Treasury chief and that Lammy said on X he “would have been proud to continue serving in Cabinet, but a new Prime Minister is entitled to build his own team.”
Burnham said he would set out first steps “to give people some breathing space now, some help with the cost of living,” and he told reporters he “always taken a very prudent approach” to the economy in previous jobs.
The AP also reported that Burnham’s office said the prime minister spoke to Donald Trump on Monday afternoon and “underlined his commitment to defense and security,” while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X that he was “looking forward to our conversation later today.”
Stability, care, and politics
Burnham framed his agenda as a break from what he called a revolving door, saying “This a moment for reflection and new resolution” and that “Britain needs to show the world that we can regain our stability once again.”
He also said he “would not want to leave office” without improving Britain’s patchy access to social care for those who need it because of age, illness or disability, and he described the need for a “conversation with the public” about how to pay for long-term care.
In the same early push for policy detail, Burnham said he would announce first measures on Tuesday to help with the cost of living, and he told reporters funding plans “will be clearly set out in our budget.”
The AP reported that Burnham will confront the same struggles as his predecessor, including a sluggish economy, a cost-of-living crisis, overstretched public services, and concerns about migration and foreign affairs involving wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
