‘King of the North’ Andy Burnham becomes 7th U.K. prime minister in a decade

LONDON — Over to you, Andy Burnham. The man dubbed the “King of the North” became the new British prime minister Monday, the latest in a revolving door of leaders who will attempt to halt a decade of political turbulence and economic stagnation. Burnham, 56, was appointed unchallenged after the unpopular Keir Starmer agreed to step down last month following a series of election defeats, U-turns and scandals. Both Starmer and Burnham come from the same center-left Labour Party, and in the United Kingdom ruling parties can change leaders — and therefore the prime minister — in the middle of an election cycle without anyone voting. That said, Burnham has promised radical change after taking office following a morning of royal formality, though he already faces infighting over his cabinet selections. The incoming leader has a heaving inbox: how to solve Britain’s cost-of-living crisis, revive its ailing National Health Service and navigate bitter debates over immigration and Europe. He must also fend off the challenge from Reform UK, the hard-right party led by Donald Trump ally Nigel Farage, which tops the polls. While there has been little doubt over this outcome for weeks, Burnham’s path to the top job has been a winding one — from Westminster insider to the mayor of Greater Manchester and, eventually, a commanding special election win that sealed his return to Parliament and paved way for the handover now playing out. First on Monday, he was focused on the pageantry of a now familiar political handover (Burnham being Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade, and fifth in four years). He had already replaced Starmer as leader of the Labour Party. Then, early Monday, Starmer delivered a farewell speech outside his official residence of No. 10 Downing St. Some of these addresses can be painful and emotional, but Starmer sought to project an image of celebration and pride in his achievements, including economic growth and lower figures for net migration. “My work is done,” Starmer said in front of a crowd of sunglass-wearing supporters in the warm morning sunshine. He said Burnham “has my full support,” adding that the job had been “the privilege of my life.” Starmer was then driven to Buckingham Palace, where he offered his resignation to King Charles III. After he left Burnham arrived at the palace, and the king asked him to form a government. This ceremony is known as “kissing hands,” though new leaders aren’t actually expected to do that these days. Burnham will now go back to Downing St. where he is expected to make a landmark speech laying out his vision for the country. In keeping with the more casual style he’s sought to project, Burnham’s team had not set up the type of formal lectern favored by his predecessors, suggesting he planned to talk while standing freely. Burnham has promised “to pass power from the authorities to ordinary people” and “to build a new politics — the country is crying out for it,” he said in a speech Friday. “Let’s have the courage to fix the big things that politics has neglected,” he added, vowing to reverse the “wrong turns” that Britain began to take in the 1980s when “political power was centralized, and economic power was privatized.” Abroad, he will also have to navigate his relationship with President Donald Trump. At first Trump dismissed Burnham as “the mayor of a town” and “extremely liberal,” but over the weekend the president lauded (and possibly overinterpreted) hints that Burnham may take a softer approach to Britain’s North Sea, where new oil and gas exploration licenses are currently halted by climate policies. The shift would take “the United Kingdom from a Poverty Stricken Disaster to one of the Richest Countries anywhere in the world,” Trump said on Truth Social. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.