Andy Burnham to become UK PM on Monday after Keir Starmer resigns

London,UPDATED: Jul 18, 2026 10:24 IST

Veteran Labour Party politician Andy Burnham is set to become Britain’s next prime minister on Monday, taking over from Keir Starmer, who announced his resignation last month. Burnham was the only candidate to secure enough backing from Labour lawmakers to replace Starmer as leader of the governing party, and he was formally announced as leader at a special party conference on Friday.

Because Labour holds a majority, its leader also becomes prime minister. Burnham received the support of 349 of Labour’s 401 lawmakers, but he will formally take office only on Monday, when he meets King Charles III at Buckingham Palace for the official process. Until then, Starmer remains caretaker prime minister.

Britain’s parliamentary system allows a governing party to change its leader mid-term without holding a general election. The winner then becomes prime minister. A national election is not required until 2029, five years after the last election in 2024.

Starmer said on June 22 that he was stepping down as Labour leader after less than two years in power. His tenure had been marked by a series of political missteps, most notably his decision to appoint a man with close ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as Britain’s ambassador to the United States. Labour’s heavy losses in local elections in May increased pressure on him to resign. When Burnham later won a special election for a seat in Parliament, Starmer gave way to the calls to quit. Under Labour rules, a lawmaker can challenge the leader with the support of a fifth of the party’s House of Commons lawmakers. Burnham comfortably crossed that mark, and no other candidate entered the contest.

Burnham will become the seventh British prime minister in a decade. Under the UK system, it is not unusual for a prime minister to take office through an internal party contest rather than a general election. In the past decade, Theresa May and Boris Johnson became prime minister after winning Conservative leadership races when their predecessors resigned mid-term. In 2022, Liz Truss replaced Johnson after a Conservative leadership contest, and when Truss stepped down 49 days later, Rishi Sunak took over through a similar process.

The transfer of power on Monday will follow a familiar sequence. Starmer will give a farewell speech before going to Buckingham Palace to formally resign in a short meeting with the king. Burnham will then arrive at the palace, where Charles will ask him to form a government. The private ceremony is known as the “Kissing of Hands”, though no hands are actually kissed and the men are more likely to shake hands.

After leaving the palace, Burnham will become the 59th person to hold the office of British prime minister. He will then travel to No. 10 Downing Street, where he is expected to make his first statement in office. The transfer, which is usually shown live on television, is expected to be completed within hours, marking another change at the top of British politics without a general election.

With PTI Inputs

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