Andy Burnham becomes 7th UK PM in a decade, is expected to take tougher stance on Israel

Taking reins of unpopular governing Labour party from Keir Starmer, in a Britain with anemic economic growth, ex-Manchester mayor pledges to tackle high cost of living ahead of new 10-year-plan

LONDON — Andy Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester and new leader of the Labour Party, took the final steps on Monday to succeed Keir Starmer, becoming Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade.

The affable Burnham returned to Parliament in June by winning a risky special election and was sworn in as a member on July 12, hours after the unpopular Starmer announced his resignation to end a tenure of just two years in office.

Burnham is expected to tackle policies he believes the Labour Party failed to deliver on under Starmer, including the cost of living crisis, and is expected to take a tougher stance on Israel, believing that his predecessor “didn’t get it right.”

Starmer traveled the mile from Downing Street to Buckingham Palace on Monday to formally tell King Charles III that he was resigning and Charles accepted, Buckingham Palace said.

The 56-year-old Burnham then arrived at the palace and accepted the invitation by Charles to form a government in a moment known as “kissing hands.”

In his final speech as prime minister, Starmer thanked the British people “for the opportunity to serve.”

“As I now pass the baton to Andy Burnham, I wish him every success,” he said. “He has my full support.”

“For all the focus on individuals, politics will always be a team sport, and the changes we’ve delivered for our country and our party belong to everyone who has fought for them,” Starmer said.

He ended by saying, “I go with good grace, I go with a smile, and I go proud of everything that we have achieved.”

Burnham faces a long list of problems, from Britain’s underperforming utilities to anemic economic growth, and must first unveil his top team of ministers — already the subject of much debate in the governing Labour Party.

Describing his election to become Labour leader as “the most significant change moment in our politics for 40 years,” Burnham has promised to radically change Britain’s political system to quickly raise living standards.

“The government I lead will confidently lay that path out starting next week,” he said on Friday when he promised to offer Britain the hope and change the country “was crying out for.”

“It will take us to a country where life is more affordable and all people and places are lifted from where they are now,” he said.

That message was made directly to Labour lawmakers, who, after Burnham returned to parliament last month, see him as one of the few politicians who can reduce the threat from veteran Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party — something they doubted the unpopular Starmer could do.

‘We need to be better’

In his first speech as premier, delivered outside 10 Downing Street, Burnham promised to set out new measures to help with the cost of living this week before setting out a new 10-year plan for the country later this year.

“Britain needs to show the world that we can regain our stability once again,” the new prime minister said. “We have not been good enough, and we need to be better.”

Promising Britons “some breathing space now,” he said the government would set out some measures to tackle the high cost of living, and how it plans to fund them.

Outlining some of his key policies, Burnham said his government “will help more young people into work by changing the education system and giving them more support, more mental health support, and we will build more council homes.”

“That is the fair and sustainable way to bring the welfare bill down, to meet our fiscal rules, and to honor our commitments on defense to our international partners.”

The former Greater Manchester mayor said he would also back British industry and “reindustrialize Britain.”

Turning to foreign affairs, Burnham said his first calls to foreign leaders would be to US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.

He said he wants to reassure Zelensky that “I will be with him 100 percent,” and that “Britain’s support is steadfast, it is resolute.”

Burnham expected to take tougher stance on Israel

While he didn’t mention Israel in his first speech as prime minister, Burnham said earlier this month that Westminster must put more pressure on Jerusalem over its actions in Gaza.

He told the Guardian newspaper that many people thought Starmer’s government “didn’t get it right” when it came to responding to Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza, following the group’s October 7, 2023, invasion and massacre in southern Israel.

“I am sorry about that. The response has too often not been good enough. We need to do better,” he told the newspaper.

While he stopped short of declaring the war a genocide, a charge that Israel vehemently denies, Burnham said there was “increasing evidence that war crimes appear to have been committed.”

He added, however, that ultimately “it must be for the international courts to determine, rather than politicians.”

Burnham also said he believed “further sanctions” on Israel should be considered, and that measures should be examined “to ban trade in goods with illegal settlements.”

Amid a rise in violent antisemitic attacks in Britain in recent months, Burnham insisted in the interview that there was “no contradiction between a zero-tolerance approach to antisemitism and holding the Netanyahu government to account.”

“I will always take a fair and balanced approach and stand up for what is right,” he added.

Britain awaits Burnham’s cabinet picks

Burnham’s first hurdle will be the appointment of his cabinet team, particularly his choice of finance minister. Friction in this crucial partnership at the heart of government has led to the downfall of previous administrations.

An early frontrunner for the position, energy security and net zero minister Ed Miliband, has been on the receiving end of some hostile briefing and interior minister Shabana Mahmood now appears to be favored for the job.

Burnham called on his party to ignore “speculation” on Friday and said he had not yet decided on his team.

His early policy decisions will also face scrutiny, with his team keen to move on with his agenda quickly.

On Sunday, one early move was to scrap plans for all employees to hold a digital identity document, a scheme designed to tackle illegal migration but deemed to be a “fiasco” by a cross-party committee of lawmakers.

More attention will be paid to Burnham’s subsequent decisions, particularly on taxation and spending, oil and gas, and underperforming utilities companies, which he wants to see under stronger public control.

On Sunday, his ally, deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell, suggested Thames Water, a debt-stricken utility, could be brought under “special measures,” meaning it would operate under government control.

“He wants to refocus and reprioritize the government’s resources, the government’s attention onto his priorities of tackling the cost of living, really rewiring the way the country, the economy works,” she told Sky News.