Andy Burnham becomes UK PM after Starmer quits, vows circuit-breaker change

London,UPDATED: Jul 20, 2026 18:30 IST

Andy Burnham on Monday took charge as the UK's new Prime Minister after King Charles III invited him to form a government following Keir Starmer's resignation. Burnham, 56, formally assumed office after an audience with the King, marking the handover of power in Britain.

In his inaugural speech outside 10 Downing Street, the newly elected Labour leader said he wanted politics to focus more on solving problems and described his appointment as a "circuit breaker" moment for the country. He said his government would pursue major political and economic change, while also promising immediate action on rough sleeping.

Burnham broke from prime ministerial tradition by addressing the nation from his new headquarters without the customary podium used by most of his predecessors. Accompanied by his wife Marie-France van Heel and surrounded by several party colleagues expected to be among his close aides, he pledged a collaborative approach. "We will make this moment a circuit-breaker for Britain, bringing forward the biggest changes in the last 40 years; a new political model and a new economic model," Burnham said in his first address as PM.

He also set out his social priorities, saying, "We will help people to live well, building a more preventative state, investing in people's success, rather than paying for people's failure; and that work starts now." He added: "I will soon go through that door behind me and issue my first instruction: to end rough sleeping in our country," linking the pledge to plans to build more homes.

Buckingham Palace confirmed the appointment in a statement, saying: "His Majesty received in audience the Rt. Hon. Andrew Burnham MP and requested him to form a new administration." The palace added that Burnham "kissed hands upon his appointment as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury", referring to the symbolic royal tradition within Britain's constitutional monarchy. Elected Labour leader unopposed last week, Burnham is now expected to begin work immediately by announcing his Cabinet picks.

Earlier, Starmer delivered his final address from 10 Downing Street before going to meet the King to formally tender his resignation. "My work is done," he said. The 63-year-old Labour MP, who announced last month that he would step down, said he was "passing the baton" to Burnham, who had his "full support". "I go with good grace, I go with a smile and I go proud of everything that we have achieved," Starmer said, as Cabinet colleagues and officials lined up to applaud his departure after two years in office following Labour's landslide win in the July 2024 general election.

Burnham has now taken over as Britain's Prime Minister after Starmer's resignation, and began his tenure by promising a new political and economic approach, action on rough sleeping and the formation of a new Cabinet.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends