LONDON (AFP/Reuters) – Britain’s King Charles III on Monday appointed Andy Burnham as prime minister after outgoing Keir Starmer officially tendered his resignation, the palace said.
“Andrew Burnham MP accepted The King’s offer and kissed hands upon his appointment as Prime Minister,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement, adding the king had asked him to form the next government.
Burnham vowed to put forward a 10-year plan for Britain, saying the country needed to make politics work.
“Britain needs to show the world that we can regain our stability once again,” Burnham said just after being appointed by King Charles III to take over from Keir Starmer.
He pledged to “issue my first instruction to end rough sleeping in our country” once he starts work.
Promising Britons “some breathing space now”, he said the government would set out some measures to tackle the high cost-of-living, and how it plans to fund them.
Further out, he said: “We will help more young people into work by changing the education system and giving them more support, more mental health support, and we will build more council homes.
“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.”
Labour party backs Burnham to push back surging reform UK
On Friday, Burnham described his election to become Labour leader as “the most significant change moment in our politics for 40 years”.
He promised to radically change the political system to help a country hungry for change become one where “life is more affordable and all people and places are lifted from where they are now”.
Labour lawmakers see him as one of the few politicians capable of tackling the threat from veteran Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK — something they doubted the unpopular Starmer could do.
Burnham’s first challenge will be the choice of his cabinet team and especially his finance minister.
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