Out goes Keir Starmer. In comes Andy Burnham. The United Kingdom officially has a new Prime Minister, the seventh since Brexit in 2016 made stability a distant memory, and the fourth in just four years of the reign of King Charles III, the first Catholic to hold Downing Street in five centuries.
The 56-year-old former mayor of Manchester, nicknamed the “King of the North”A staunch European, he became the new leader of the British Labour Party on Friday with 95% of the vote from his party's MPs. In the United Kingdom, when the ruling party changes leaders, the prime minister also changes, without the need for a ballot box.
Burnham's speech
After received the commission from King Charles IIIBurnham arrived at 10 Downing Street, where he gave his first speech as Prime Minister. The new Prime Minister promised to to give the country a clear turning point, presenting itself as a “switch” capable of interrupting a decade of instability where "politics has fallen short." "Britain must show the world that it can regain its stability: that is the challenge we face," Burnham said.
“I will give it my all and ask you to join me. Let's build a new national sense of unity, of common purpose and positivity. Let us make this the moment when the United Kingdom begins to believe again. The moment when we restore hope,” added the new Prime Minister, promising the greatest changes in the last 40 years, a new political model, a new economic model, after the negative turn of the 1980s. “We will reindustrialize the country.” “We must do better” than what has been done in recent years, “and we will,” he added, ensuring that he has “a long-term plan” to improve the country over the next “10 years,” reiterating his desire to make the conditions of those who are worst off “more sustainable.”
Burnham is expected to announce tomorrow the first measures against the high cost of living. He also promised immediate action to end homelessness and promote youth employment. "We will help more young people enter the workforce by changing the education system and offering them more support, more mental health support, and we will build more social housing," he continued. "This is the fair and sustainable way to reduce welfare spending." respect our budget rules e honor the commitments made in the field of defense with our international partners. We will help people live well, building a more prevention-oriented state and investing in people's success rather than paying for their failures. And this work begins now.
The new ministers
The new prime minister is now preparing for a major cabinet reshuffle. According to expectations, the current Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood it is indicated as possible Chancellor of the Exchequer, while Energy Secretary Ed Miliband could move to Foreign Affairs. The government is also expected to include Angela Rayner, Lucy Powell, and Louise Haigh, former Deputy Prime Minister, former Leader of the House of Commons, and former Transport Secretary, respectively.
Starmer's farewell
The outgoing Prime Minister this morning Keir Starmer He went to King Charles III to formalize his resignation, which the sovereign accepted, and pass the ball into the hands of his successor.
Earlier, in front of 10 Downing Street, he gave a short speech. “My work has been done, I leave a country that is stronger and more equal than two years ago“, Starmer claimed. “In six and a half years I have lifted our party from a historic defeat in 2019, transformed it to be fit to face the country and achieved a landslide victory in the 2024 general elections”, continued the outgoing Prime Minister who has brought the Labour Party back to power after 14 years, but has also become very unpopular in a short time due to some scandals, first of all the one concerning the nomination of Peter Mandelson, fired after a few months because of his relations with the financier Jeffrey Epstein.
In his speech, Starmer assured his “full support for Andy Burnham.” “I leave with good grace, with a smile on my face and proud of what we have accomplished,” he concluded.
