Andy Burnham begins as UK PM with stability and unity pledge

London,UPDATED: Jul 20, 2026 19:08 IST

Andy Burnham began his tenure as the UK’s new Prime Minister on Monday by acknowledging the political instability that has taken Britain through a string of leaders in recent years. Soon after a customary meeting with King Charles III, Burnham used his first address outside 10 Downing Street to call for stability, better politics and a renewed sense of national unity.

In a speech that also set out his early priorities, Burnham said power would be shifted away from Westminster and towards regions across the country, while the cost-of-living crisis would be tackled by making essentials more affordable. He also departed from convention by speaking extempore and without the traditional lectern used for prime ministerial speeches at Downing Street.

"I am acutely conscious that I am the sixth person in the last 10 years to walk up this street, the seventh Prime Minister since 2016, making this a moment for reflection and new resolution," Burnham said in his inaugural address. "It requires my generation of politicians to raise our game and rise to the new challenge. Britain needs to show the world that we can regain our stability once again, and that is our challenge, to make politics work, to make it work better... Let’s build a new national sense of unity, of common purpose, and positivity," he said.

He also addressed public frustration with politics directly. "I know people at home are fed up with politics. I hear you, and I want to be honest with you, we have not been good enough, and we need to be better. We will be," he said.

Among the central themes of the speech were regional devolution and the rising pressure on household finances. "We will take power out of here and carry it into every postcode in the land so that they can do more. And in doing more, build a new economy, where we put life’s essentials back under stronger public control to make them affordable to you again," Burnham said.

This marks the third attempt at the top job for the 56-year-old politician, who had earlier failed in Labour leadership contests in 2010 and 2015. He returned to Westminster politics last month after winning a by-election at Makerfield in northern England, a contest presented as a test of his ability to push back against the growing threat from the far-right Reform UK. In his maiden speech as Prime Minister, he also promised a new "10-year plan", signalling his intention to lead into the next general election expected by 2029.

Burnham was born in Merseyside in north-west England to a telephone engineer father and a GP surgery receptionist mother, and grew up in Cheshire. A University of Cambridge graduate, he entered politics as a researcher and special adviser to a Labour veteran before winning his first general election as MP for Leigh in Greater Manchester in 2001. He rose through government under Gordon Brown, serving as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Culture Secretary and Health Secretary. After Labour lost power in 2010, he served in Ed Miliband’s shadow cabinet, then lost the 2015 leadership race to Jeremy Corbyn before resigning as an MP in 2017 to pursue his mayoral bid in Greater Manchester.

As mayor, Burnham became widely known as the "King of the North", a reference to the American fantasy drama 'Game of Thrones'. He won the Labour leadership unopposed last week. During his time in Greater Manchester, he led a major delegation to India in 2019 and underlined the importance of closer ties, saying: "India is a key market in Greater Manchester’s internationalisation strategy as it presents significant opportunities to the city-region, but these opportunities are mutual, and Greater Manchester is also helping India with its own economic growth plans."

Burnham’s family is expected to split time between London and northern England. His Dutch-born wife, Marie-France van Heel, and their three children in their 20s — Jimmy, Rosie and Anne-Marie — are linked to his proposal for a "No. 10 North", which is aimed at ensuring that power is not concentrated only at 10 Downing Street. His opening day in office brought together that broader message: a promise of stability, a push to spread power beyond Westminster and a call to rebuild trust in politics.

With PTI Inputs

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