Burnham Becomes PM, Vowing a ‘Circuit-Breaker for Britain’
Andy Burnham became the United Kingdom’s seventh prime minister in a decade on Monday, after King Charles III asked him to form a government following Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation. In his first speech outside Downing Street, Mr Burnham promised to end political instability and pledged help with the cost of living this week, with an end to rough sleeping as an immediate priority. He had been Labour leader for barely three days.
“Britain needs to show the world that we can regain our stability once again,” Mr Burnham said, promising to make the moment “a circuit-breaker for Britain, bringing forward the biggest changes in the last 40 years”. He conceded: “We have not been good enough and we need to be better.” Sir Keir, who called the premiership “the privilege of my life”, pledged his successor his “full support”. Mr Burnham inherits a party trailing Reform UK with a general election due by 2029. Watch for the promised cost-of-living package and a ten-year plan later this year.