Andy Burnham takes charge as UK PM

• Andy Burnham, newly elected leader of the Labour Party, took charge as the UK’s new Prime Minister on July 20.

• Earlier, Keir Starmer delivered his final address from 10 Downing Street as Britain’s Prime Minister before making his way to meet the King to formally tender his resignation.

• Starmer announced his resignation as British PM and the leader of the Labour Party on June 22.

• Burnham took formal charge as Britain’s new PM after his meeting with King Charles III.

• The 56-year-old leader of the Labour Party broke from prime ministerial tradition by choosing to address the nation from his new headquarters without the customary podium used by most of his predecessors.

• Burnham promised a new wave of public ownership in the UK and a 10-year plan for Britain.

Who is Andy Burnham?

• Burnham is a former Labour minister under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. • He was elected Member of Parliament for Leigh in June 2001. 

• He served in government between 2007 and 2010 as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and Secretary of State for Health. 

• Burnham was elected mayor of Greater Manchester in May 2017, and re-elected in 2021 and 2024. 

• He returned as Member of Parliament for Makerfield in June 2026, and was elected Leader of the Labour Party on July 16. 

British PMs since 2016:

i) David Cameron (2010 to 2016): Cameron, who won an election majority in 2015, announced his resignation in June 2016 — a day after British voters voted to leave the European Union in a pivotal referendum that he had campaigned hard against.

ii) Theresa May (2016 to 2019): May served from 2016 to May 2019, when she ended a failed three-year quest to lead Britain out of the European Union. While May successfully struck a divorce deal with the EU, her fellow Conservative Party members refused to accept the deal. 

iii) Boris Johnson (2019 to 2022): Johnson oversaw Britain’s exit from the EU and steered the country through the COVID-19 pandemic, but he was brought down after a series of ethics scandals tarnished his administration.

iv) Liz Truss (2022): Truss became Britain’s shortest-serving PM when she announced her resignation in October 2022, just six weeks after taking office.

v) Rishi Sunak (2022 to 2024): Sunak took over from Truss in 2022. He stepped down in 2024 after his party suffered defeat in elections.

vi) Keir Starmer (2024 to 2026): Starmer led the Labour Party to power after 14 years in opposition with a landslide general election victory over the Conservatives in July 2024. After an initial phase of popularity, his ratings as PM plummeted in recent months over some controversial decisions.