Andy Burnham has become the United Kingdom's new Prime Minister, completing a handover that had been building for weeks. Earlier in the day Keir Starmer delivered a farewell address outside Downing Street before travelling the short distance to Buckingham Palace to tender his resignation to King Charles III. Once the monarch accepted it, Burnham was summoned to the palace and, in the ceremony known as the kissing of hands, was asked to form a government, formally becoming Prime Minister. On his return to Downing Street he delivered a speech in what commentators noted was a departure from tradition, speaking without a lectern.
The former mayor of Greater Manchester takes office as the country's 49th Prime Minister and the seventh in just over a decade, a run of turnover that has come to define an unusually turbulent period in British politics. He reached the top of the Labour Party through a contest that was effectively unchallenged, securing the backing of the overwhelming majority of Labour MPs, an endorsement his allies say leaves him, for now, at the peak of his authority, and one he reached with striking speed given how quickly events unfolded.
Starmer, who announced last month that he would step down after a series of missteps eroded his standing with his party and the public, sought to leave on his own terms. In his final speech he said Britain was stronger and fairer than two years ago, pointed to falling NHS waiting times and lower immigration, and thanked his wife and children. He passed what he called the baton to Burnham, wishing him every success and pledging his full support, before leaving to applause from allies lining the street.
Within hours of entering office, Burnham set about assembling his own top team, and the reshuffle quickly turned into a sweeping clear-out of Starmer's closest colleagues. The most striking departure was that of Rachel Reeves, the first woman to serve as Chancellor of the Exchequer. According to accounts from those close to the process, Reeves was offered another, lesser role in the cabinet but chose to decline it, leaving government altogether rather than accept a diminished post.
In a departing message, Reeves said it had been the privilege of her life to serve as Chancellor and argued that the economy was stronger, fairer and more resilient because of the choices taken by the Labour government. Her exit was a significant moment, given that she had been widely regarded as the second most powerful figure in the previous administration and had been visibly emotional at Starmer's final Prime Minister's Questions days earlier. As the afternoon wore on the list of departures lengthened to around a dozen figures, including the Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy, the Business Secretary Peter Kyle, the Housing Secretary Steve Reid, the Science and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall, the Attorney General Lord Hermer, the Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens, the Chief Secretary Darren Jones, the International Development Minister Jenny Chapman and Hillary Benn.
With those posts cleared, Burnham moved to name his own cabinet, and the most closely watched decision, the Chancellorship, went to the former Defence Secretary John Healy, at 66 the oldest person appointed Chancellor since William Gladstone and a choice business groups welcomed as reassuring and experienced. The other great offices of state also took shape, with Ed Miliband appointed Foreign Secretary and Shabana Mahmood remaining as Home Secretary. Angela Rayner returned to the housing brief as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, though without the deputy prime minister title she had previously held, positioning her to drive Burnham's devolution agenda. Jonathan Reynolds moved from chief whip to lead an expanded department for business, innovation, science and trade, Lucy Powell was appointed Education Secretary, taking over from Bridget Phillipson, who remained in cabinet as Minister for Women and Equalities, Louise Haig was named First Secretary of State, and Wes Streeting was moved to the Ministry of Defence. With the senior team approved by the King, commentators noted the prominence of northern and Greater Manchester MPs in the new line-up and judged that Burnham had shifted the government somewhat to the left while purging Starmer's closest allies.
Even as the cabinet was reshaped, Burnham turned quickly to the international stage. Shortly after taking office he held telephone calls with the President of the United States, Donald Trump, and with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. In a readout of the call, Zelensky thanked the new Prime Minister for his words of respect for the Ukrainian people and his condolences to the families of those killed in Russia's recent attacks, said the two countries had built the strongest partnership in the history of their relations, and pointed to future cooperation, including work on an anti-ballistic coalition.
On his first day Burnham also set out an early domestic priority, telling reporters that as he went through the door of Number 10 he would issue his first instruction, to end rough sleeping in the country. It was a striking and characteristically bold pledge, and one that drew immediate scrutiny given his record in Greater Manchester, where his A Bed Every Night scheme had made an impact but had also, critics said, produced unintended pressures and proved difficult to sustain. Commentators noted the scale of the ambition and its likely cost, with a figure of around three hundred million pounds mentioned as only a starting point for a promise many regard as extremely hard to deliver.
The new Prime Minister has signalled that he intends to govern as what he has called authentically Labour, with priorities including support for industry, social care and investment beyond London. His team has indicated that an announcement on help with the cost of living, described as costed, would come as early as the following day, with a broader ten-year plan for Britain promised later in the autumn. The coming days are expected to bring his first full meeting of ministers and the beginning of a programme on which his premiership will ultimately be judged.