By Opeyemi Adelakun
Andy Burnham has officially become the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after meeting King Charles III at Buckingham Palace on Monday, following the resignation of Keir Starmer.
Burnham, 56, was invited by the monarch to form a new government after Starmer formally tendered his resignation, completing the constitutional process that ushered in Britain’s new leader.
In his farewell address outside 10 Downing Street, Starmer defended his two years in office, saying his administration had made Britain “stronger and fairer.”
“I go with good grace, I go with a smile, and I go proud of everything that we have achieved,” Starmer said before departing Downing Street.
Burnham now becomes the sixth British prime minister in the last decade and assumes office at a time of mounting economic and political challenges.
In his first address as prime minister, Burnham is expected to unveil his government’s priorities, focusing on restoring confidence in government, tackling the cost-of-living crisis, boosting economic growth, and devolving greater powers to regional communities.
Speaking ahead of his appointment, Burnham said Britain needed a fresh direction after years of political instability.
“What we’ve been doing hasn’t been working. That’s the way I see it. I am going to try and do things in a different way,” he said.
The former Mayor of Greater Manchester also promised a different economic strategy centred on early investment, public sector reform and targeted interventions aimed at easing financial pressures on households.
Among the immediate challenges confronting his administration are sluggish economic growth, rising government borrowing costs, increasing welfare expenditure, irregular migration and global uncertainties, including volatile energy prices linked to the US-Iran conflict.
Burnham also faces the task of rebuilding public confidence in the governing Labour Party following Starmer’s resignation after a series of political controversies and policy reversals.
A former cabinet minister under Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, Burnham served as a Member of Parliament between 2001 and 2017 before becoming Mayor of Greater Manchester, where he built a reputation for championing regional development.
His first major policy move came even before assuming office, with the cancellation of the nationwide digital identity scheme introduced under Starmer’s government. The new administration said funds earmarked for the programme would instead be redirected to measures aimed at addressing the cost-of-living crisis.
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