Updated ,first published
London: British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has vowed to “restore hope” to the country after being elevated to the presidency in a meeting with King Charles, declaring the public deserve better from a new generation of politicians.
Burnham promised to provide help with the cost of living within her first 24 hours on the job, as she arrived at her official residence at 10 Downing Street to deliver her first remarks as prime minister in front of hundreds of journalists.
“We haven’t been good enough and we need to be better,” he said. “We will be.”
The formal transfer of power was concluded after the previous prime minister, Keir Starmer, visited King Charles at Buckingham Palace for a private meeting at which he officially resigned.
That meeting paved the way for Burnham to visit the king soon after and be invited to form the government, elevating him to the highest position.
In a brief statement, the king confirmed that Burnham accepted the invitation and “kissed the hands on her appointment”, traditional language used to describe a prime minister accepting the monarch’s invitation to lead the government.
The formal events were broadcast live on multiple television networks and online, while a helicopter flew overhead to capture moments of a warm summer day in London.
Speaking outside Downing Street after the palace meeting, without notes or lectern, Burnham said she was “very” aware that she was the seventh prime minister since 2016.
“It requires my generation of politicians to up our game and rise to the new challenge,” 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 to the main television camera to personally assure 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 gone in the wrong direction since the 1980s.
Burnham promised to decentralize power from London, reindustrialise the economy, end rough sleeping, ensure stronger public control of key industries, build more housing and improve mental health support.
He said he would define cost-of-living support, in a funded government policy, within his first 24 hours.
“It’s about putting the right values and the right standards at the center 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 everyone to support me.
“Let us build a new national sense of unity, of common purpose and of positivity. Let us make this the moment when Britain begins to believe again, the moment when we regain hope.”
With those words, he entered 10 Downing Street with his wife, Marie-France van Heel, to be received by senior political officials and other advisers.
Earlier, Starmer had left the official residence to make his final speech as prime minister in front of dozens of ministerial colleagues, staff and family, including his wife, Victoria.
“My job is done. In six and a half years, I lifted our party from a historic defeat in 2019, turned it around so that it was fit to face the country, and won a landslide victory in the 2024 general election,” he said.
“Since then, it has been the privilege of my life to serve you and this great country as Prime Minister, and I am confident that Britain is now stronger and fairer than it was two years ago.”
Starmer said Burnham had his “full support”.
“As I pass the baton to Andy Burnham, I wish her every success,” he said.
“I go with a good disposition, I go with a smile and I am proud of everything we have achieved.”
After being hugged by his wife and hugging some of his followers, Starmer walked to a waiting car with Victoria and headed to the palace to see the King.
Buckingham Palace confirmed shortly afterwards that Charles was “pleased to accept” Starmer’s resignation (the same wording used for statements about the departures of previous prime ministers).
The meetings at Buckingham Palace formally concluded a long struggle within the Labor Party to replace Starmer after growing discontent over his leadership, and a year of planning by Burnham and her allies to seize power within the party.
By being appointed to the top job on Monday, Burnham became the country’s seventh prime minister since 2016.
One of Burnham’s most important tasks on her first day was to name a cabinet.
The key job of Chancellor of the Exchequer went to John Healey, the former defense secretary who resigned from the previous government a few weeks ago over funding plans for his department. His appointment as head of the Treasury was a surprise.
Healey replaces Rachel Reeves, the architect of much of Starmer’s economic agenda and some of the missteps that destroyed his support. Others who left the cabinet included David Lammy, who was deputy prime minister.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband was given the role of Foreign Secretary. He replaces Yvette Cooper, who was appointed Health Secretary, a demotion but a hugely important role for Labour’s re-election prospects. Shabana Mahmood remains Home Minister.
Burnham also brought back Jonathan Reynolds as business minister and Angela Rayner as housing minister. The full Cabinet will meet on Tuesday.
Bond market investors were watching the cabinet’s decision closely, given that the country’s net public debt is 2.9 trillion pounds ($5.6 trillion) – equivalent to 95 percent of annual economic output – and rising.
Burnham, who has spent the last nine years as mayor of Greater Manchester, laid out broad themes about his plans in a speech three weeks ago, knowing he had the numbers within the Labor Party to lead the government.
“We will create a more streamlined State with a clearer purpose to empower all parts of the country and put a laser focus on growth and regeneration – good growth,” he said.
Burnham, however, attracted attention with a related promise to move some of the powers from 10 Downing Street in London – close to the main public service departments around Whitehall – so that a new government unit would be responsible for the north of England and other areas outside the capital.
Burnham called her proposed new office “Number 10 North,” and the phrase dominated media coverage of her speech, although she did not outline any details about how it would work.
The Labor Party has 403 seats in the House of Commons, giving it a comfortable majority. The Conservative Party has 117 seats, the Liberal Democrats have 71, the Reform UK has seven and the Greens have five. Small parties and independents make up the rest.
But divisions within the Labor parliamentary party have weakened the government, while UK reform leader Nigel Farage has made big gains in local government elections and soared in public opinion polls as a potential prime minister.
Burnham’s rise began in earnest on 19 May when she overcame resistance from Starmer allies and gained party approval to run as a Labor candidate in a by-election for the seat of Makerfield, which she won on 19 June.
Starmer announced on June 22 that he would resign. As Labor MPs made clear they wanted a new leader, Starmer set out an internal party timetable for deciding his replacement. When party officials called for nominations, Burnham was the only candidate, an extraordinary development given that she had become a member of the House of Commons only days earlier.
While Burnham is the seventh prime minister in about a decade, he is also described as the sixth prime minister in 10 years.
Former Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron resigned on July 13, 2016, 10 years and one week ago. He was followed by Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak of the Conservative Party. They were followed by Starmer and Burnham.
With cables.
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David Crowe is European correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via unknown either email.
