New United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister (PM) Andy Burnham took office on Monday with a pledge to deliver a ten-year plan to ease cost-of-living pressures and restore political stability.
Burnham, 56, promised to re-industrialise Britain and end rough sleeping after meeting King Charles III at Buckingham Palace to formally take over as head of government from Keir Starmer, who had stepped down earlier in the day.
Accompanied by his wife, Marie-France van Heel, Burnham arrived at Downing Street to loud applause from supporters, acknowledging that he had become the country's seventh prime minister since the start of 2016.
Britain needed to show the world it could "regain stability," he said, vowing to build "a new political model" and "a new economy."
Shortly after entering Downing Street, Burnham held a phone call with United States (US) President Donald Trump, a UK government official and a White House official confirmed on condition of anonymity.
Earlier, he had told broadcasters he intended to reassure Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky later that day that "I will be with him 100 per cent."
In his brief remarks outside Number 10, Burnham said he would "bring forward a new plan for Britain, a 10-year plan," though he offered no further detail.
Starmer had spoken in similar terms of a "decade of national renewal" before Labour MPs replaced him with Burnham last month.
Burnham had only returned to Parliament four weeks earlier before he assumed office as prime minister.
Setting out more immediate priorities, Burnham said he wanted to "give people some breathing space now, some help with the cost of living," with details expected on Tuesday.
He said his first instruction as prime minister would be a commitment to "end rough sleeping," an objective he had also pursued, with limited success, during his time as a regional mayor in the north of England.
Further announcements touched on re-industrialising Britain through public procurement and building more public housing.
Burnham repeated his view that "in the 1980s Britain took some wrong turns," pledging to decentralise power away from Westminster and "put life's essentials back under stronger public control to make them affordable."
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Starmer, departing Downing Street earlier in the day, insisted his time in office had left Britain in a better state.
"I am confident that Britain is now stronger and fairer than it was two years ago," he said in his farewell speech.
Burnham "inherits" an in-tray heavy with challenges, with little time to establish himself before a nationwide election due in 2029.
Rachel Reeves confirmed she was stepping down as finance minister, while deputy prime minister David Lammy also announced his departure from government.
The former Mayor of Greater Manchester, nicknamed the "King of the North," was brought in by the Labour Party after Starmer's resignation on 22 June, with MPs viewing him as the party's best hope of containing the rise of Nigel Farage's Reform UK.
Among the most pressing issues reportedly awaiting Burnham are a sluggish economy, high government borrowing costs, a growing welfare bill, and irregular migration by small boat, which has fuelled support for Reform.
Volatile energy prices linked to the war between the US and Iran, along with unpredictable relations with the Trump administration, also threaten to complicate his time in office.
Starmer had led Labour to a landslide election victory in July 2024, ending 14 years of Conservative rule, but his premiership was ultimately marked by a series of scandals, missteps and policy reversals.
Burnham now faces similarly tight constraints, with "weak" economic growth, high public debt and strict fiscal rules limiting his room for manoeuvre.
Burnham served as an MP between 2001 and 2017, holding ministerial posts under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
However, his rapid ascent to the Labour leadership without a contest, and now to the premiership on the strength of Labour's large parliamentary majority, has prompted questions over how he intends to deliver on his promises.
According to reports, he is also facing calls from opposition politicians for a snap general election.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she looked forward to working with Burnham "to strengthen the EU-UK partnership," while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz invited him to visit Berlin to mark "the deep bond between us."
French President Emmanuel Macron also sent his congratulations, urging Burnham to "give new momentum to the partnership between the United Kingdom and the European Union."
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