LONDON — Andy Burnham became the leader of Britain on Monday, capping an extraordinary demonstration of political power in which he easily won a seat in Parliament and swiftly engineered the resignation of the sitting prime minister so he could take his place.
Burnham, who spent the past nine years as the mayor of Greater Manchester, one of the fastest-growing regions in Britain, seized on widespread dissatisfaction with the former prime minister, Keir Starmer, to make his move. After Burnham ran alone in a leadership contest, the Labour Party announced him as its leader Friday.
On Monday, Burnham met with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace, which released a photograph of the two men shaking hands after the king formally asked him to form a government.
Aides said Burnham would deliver a speech outside Downing Street in the next hour in which he would lay out his domestic priorities and promise to give more breathing room to British people struggling with high prices and slow growth. They said the new prime minister would say that political stability must deliver tangible results in people’s lives.
While Burnham has promised to stick to the broad policy program that Labour was elected on in 2024, there have been signals that he will shift some aspects of Starmer’s agenda. Lucy Powell, Labour’s deputy leader and a close ally of Burnham, said Sunday that he would take “a more pragmatic approach” to North Sea gas and oil than Starmer, but added: “I don’t think it is a change of policy, more a change of emphasis.”
United States President Donald Trump appeared to welcome — and potentially exaggerate — the expected change, saying in a post on Truth Social on Sunday that people in the Scottish port city of Aberdeen “are dancing in the streets because the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has stated that he will be opening up, all the way, the invaluable North Sea Oil! It is one of the Greatest Sources of quality Oil on Earth.”
Burnham arrives at Downing Street as Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade, reflecting a period of turmoil that began with the Brexit vote in 2016, when voters severed ties to Europe.
Here is what else to know:
— Starmer departs: Starmer delivered his final remarks as prime minister outside No. 10 Downing Street on Monday morning, declaring that he leaves “with good grace” and with pride in what he accomplished during his two years in office. He offered his full support to Burnham.
— US relationship: Burnham, who is often described as an effective political communicator, recently shrugged off the challenge of dealing with Trump, saying he had confidence in his ability to withstand the president’s larger-than-life persona.
— Religion: Burnham is the first lifelong Roman Catholic politician set to become prime minister of Britain. Once, that would have been a big deal.
— Search for growth: One of the earliest tests for Burnham as prime minister will be how to spark growth and revive the sluggish parts of the economy. His stated plan — “Good growth in every British postcode” — is likely to be hard to achieve.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
