Prime Minister Andy Burnham promised to win over voters “fed up with politics” and show the world that the UK can once again be a source of stability.
Mr Burnham used his maiden speech as Prime Minister in Downing Street to promise to take power out of Westminster and give the public greater control over “life’s essentials”.
Speaking without the lectern used by his predecessors, Mr Burnham said he would set out a ten-year plan later this year, and, starting on Tuesday, measures to address the cost-of-living squeeze and give people “breathing space now”.
His first instruction as Prime Minister would be to “end rough sleeping in our country,” he said, after a visit to a homeless charity in London hours earlier. It echoes a promise he made as Greater Manchester mayor and delivered with mixed results.
Mr Burnham, who was met with cheers by supporters in Downing Street, said: “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.
“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.”
The Labour leader pledged to “make this moment a circuit breaker for Britain” – the biggest transformation in the last 40 years, with “a new political model and a new economic model”.
He said: “We will change politics, to make it more collaborative, more about problem solving than point-scoring, and 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, reindustrialising Britain using public procurement to back British industry.”
The new UK leader also promised to:– Help more young people into work by changing the education system and giving them more support– Build more council homes– Create a more “preventative state”, investing in people’s success rather than paying for failure
He said: “That is the fair and sustainable way to bring the welfare bill down, to meet our fiscal rules, and to honour our commitments on defence to our international partners.”
Mr Burnham concluded his speech by urging people to “pull with me” to “build a new national sense of unity, of common purpose and positivity”.
“Let us make this the moment when Britain starts to believe again, the moment we bring back hope,” he said.
Mr Burnham became Prime Minister after “kissing hands” with the King – the private ceremony by which he accepted the invitation to form a government.
The carefully choreographed handover of power came after Sir Keir Starmer had his own audience with Charles to formally resign.
In his final appearance in Downing Street, Sir Keir said “my work is done” and he was leaving the country “stronger and fairer” than when he took office just two years ago.
The speeches by the incoming and outgoing prime ministers were quieter than Sir Keir’s announcement that he would be resigning last month, as a Metropolitan Police ban prevented protesters, including anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray, from playing loud music outside Downing Street to drown out his words.
Mr Burnham was flanked by a crowd including his long-term friend and ally, Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram; former footballer Peter Reid, who played for Mr Burnham’s favourite team Everton; and Josh Simons, who stood down as Makerfield MP to allow Mr Burnham to return to Westminster and challenge Sir Keir.
After his speech, Mr Burnham received hugs, applause and a kiss from his wife Marie-France van Heel, before the pair entered the black door of No 10 to be greeted by Cabinet Secretary Dame Antonia Romeo and clapped in by staff.
He spoke to US President Donald Trump in one of his first phone calls after taking office, while tributes poured in from world leaders including senior European Union figures.
Among his first tasks is the selection of his new Cabinet.
Attention has focused on who he will choose as his chancellor, with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood widely seen as the frontrunner.
The first Cabinet minister to go was Steve Reed, who revealed he was no longer housing secretary in a letter in which he stated that he was “disappointed to be leaving government now”.
Saying he was proud to have “acted with integrity at every step over the turbulent past few months”, Mr Reed wrote: “Keir Starmer showed loyalty to me by appointing me to his Cabinet. I make no apology for returning that loyalty. It’s what is expected of functioning teams, and I hope those who did not show loyalty to Keir will now show it to you.”
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch sent a letter welcoming the Prime Minister and urging him to commit to spending cuts and rule out tax rises.
She also urged him to grant licences for the North Sea’s Rosebank and Jackdaw and overturn the ban on new oil and gas licences.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski called on Mr Burnham to impose rent controls, take the water industry into public ownership and introduce wealth taxes.
