Britain’s King Charles III, shakes hands with Britain’s new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, during an audience at Buckingham Palace, London on July 20, 2026 (Photo by Aaron Chown / POOL / AFP)
Andy Burnham officially became the United Kingdom’s prime minister on Monday after meeting King Charles III at Buckingham Palace, marking the start of a new chapter in British politics following Keir Starmer’s resignation.
Starmer left Downing Street on Monday morning, delivering a farewell speech in which he defended his two years in office and expressed pride in his government’s achievements.
“I am confident that Britain is now stronger and fairer than it was two years ago,” Starmer told reporters outside No. 10 Downing Street. “I go with good grace, I go with a smile, and I go proud of everything that we have achieved.”
After accepting Starmer’s resignation, King Charles III formally invited Burnham to form a new government, a request the Labour leader accepted. At 56, Burnham becomes the sixth person to serve as Britain’s prime minister in the past decade.
Burnham now inherits a government facing significant economic and political challenges. In an interview with The Times published on Sunday, he said Britain needed a fresh approach after years of political instability.
“What we’ve been doing hasn’t been working. That’s the way I see it,” Burnham said. “I am going to try and do things in a different way.”
In his first address as prime minister, Burnham is expected to outline his priorities, focusing on restoring public confidence in government, easing the cost-of-living crisis, driving economic growth, and expanding powers for regional communities.
He is also expected to announce his senior cabinet appointments, with particular attention on who will succeed Rachel Reeves as finance minister.
The former mayor of Greater Manchester, widely known as the “King of the North,” was chosen by the Labour Party after Starmer announced his resignation last month. Party MPs believe Burnham offers Labour its strongest chance of countering the growing popularity of Nigel Farage’s anti-immigration Reform UK party.
Among Burnham’s immediate challenges are weak economic growth, rising government borrowing costs, an expanding welfare bill, and continued small-boat migrant crossings, all of which have fuelled support for Reform UK.
His administration must also contend with unpredictable energy prices linked to the US-Iran conflict and the uncertainty surrounding the presidency of Donald Trump.
Burnham said his government would adopt a new economic strategy centred on early investment and prevention rather than reactive spending.
“I will take a different approach to public spending and to running the economy—more focused on early investment, early intervention, setting people up for success, and much less paying for failure,” he told The Times.
He also pledged swift measures to ease household financial pressures, saying the cost-of-living crisis was one of the dominant concerns he encountered while campaigning.
Starmer led Labour to a landslide general election victory in July 2024, ending 14 years of Conservative rule. However, he announced his resignation in late June following a series of scandals, policy reversals and political setbacks that weakened his leadership.
Although Burnham returned to Parliament only four weeks ago, he now assumes office with limited fiscal flexibility, as sluggish economic growth, high public debt and strict spending rules constrain his room for manoeuvre.
