JULY 20, 2026

Andy Burnham becomes UK's seventh prime minister in a decade, succeeding Keir Starmer

Andy Burnham was appointed United Kingdom prime minister on Monday after meeting with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace, who invited him to form a new government. Burnham is the country's seventh prime minister in ten years, succeeding Keir Starmer, who resigned following poor local election results and declining poll ratings. In his first speech outside 10 Downing Street, Burnham said Britain must "regain our stability" and described his premiership as a "circuit breaker" that would bring "the biggest changes in the last 40 years."

Andy Burnham was formally appointed prime minister after King Charles III accepted Keir Starmer's resignation and requested Burnham to form a new administration. Buckingham Palace confirmed that Burnham "kissed hands upon his appointment as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury," with his wife, Dutch-born Marie-France van Heel, also present at the meeting.

Starmer, in a final address outside Downing Street, described serving as prime minister as the "privilege of my life" and said he was "proud of everything we have achieved," touting reductions in public service waiting times and immigration under his tenure. Hundreds of Downing Street staff and cabinet colleagues lined the street for his departure. Starmer then offered his formal resignation to the King at Buckingham Palace before Burnham traveled there to be appointed.

Burnham, 56, became a Member of Parliament only four weeks before becoming prime minister, having returned to Westminster by winning a by-election for the Makerfield constituency in Greater Manchester after the sitting MP stepped down to make way for him. He had previously served as an MP for sixteen years before leaving in 2017 to become mayor of Greater Manchester. In that role, he built a national profile through his management of the COVID-19 pandemic, when a 2020 confrontation with the central government over lockdown rules went viral. He ran unopposed for the Labour Party leadership following Starmer's resignation.