Andy Burnham acknowledged today that the Government “needs to be better” after he was formally installed as Prime Minister by the King.
The Labour leader was asked to form a Government during an audience at Buckingham Palace this afternoon. He later arrived at No10, where aides and supporters had gathered in Downing Street to hear his first address to the nation as Prime Minister.
Mr Burnham used the moment to set out his early priorities, saying he wanted to bring public services under “stronger public control” and drive a new push to “reindustrialise” Britain. Reiterating his long-held view that the country has been moving in the wrong direction since the Thatcher era, he also made clear that his first instruction to officials would be to end rough sleeping.
But the former Greater Manchester Mayor faces an immediate test of authority as he prepares to appoint his Cabinet this afternoon.
Pressure from the Labour Left remains intense for Ed Miliband to be handed the Treasury, despite concern among business leaders and party moderates. Financial markets have appeared steadier amid speculation that Shabana Mahmood is more likely to become Chancellor, though any unexpected move could still trigger a nervous reaction.
The futures of senior Labour figures including Angela Rayner, Wes Streeting and Yvette Cooper are also expected to be settled as Mr Burnham shapes his top team.
Departures have already started, with prisons minister Lord Timpson confirming he is stepping down alongside Sir Keir.
In an unusual move, Mr Burnham was accompanied by his wife, Marie-France van Heel, for his meeting with the King. In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: “His Majesty received in audience the Rt Hon Andrew Burnham MP and requested him to form a new Administration.”
‘The Rt Hon Andrew Burnham MP accepted The King’s offer and kissed hands upon his appointment as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury.
‘Ms Marie-France van Heel was also received by His Majesty.’
The constitutional changeover came after Sir Keir used a farewell address outside No10 to insist he has not been a failure – despite only surviving two years following a huge election victory.
Sir Keir said he was ‘closing the book on my time’, saying ‘my work is done’ and the country is ‘stronger’. He insisted Mr Burnham – who orchestrated a coup to secure the leadership – would have his ‘full support’.
‘I go with good grace, I go with a smile and I go proud of everything we have achieved,’ he said, thanking wife Victoria and his family.
Close Cabinet allies including David Lammy and Rachel Reeves had gathered with hundreds of aides in a sunny Downing Street to watch Sir Keir say goodbye. London Mayor Sadiq Khan was also present for the emotional moment.
On another momentous day in UK politics:
- Mr Burnham has revealed his Alzheimer’s-hit father does not know he is going to be PM, as he vows to overhaul social care;
- Eco-tycoon Dale Vince was spotted in Downing Street, amid confusion over whether the Government will allow more drilling in the North Sea;
- The new PM has hinted at an earlier end to the freeze on the basic rate tax threshold, without saying how it would be funded;
- Mr Burnham will become the first openly Catholic PM in around 500 years, with work-arounds put in place to protect the Church of England;
- Loudspeakers have been banned near Downing Street today after protesters blighted Sir Keir’s speech announcing his resignation.
Andy Burnham shunned a lectern in his first speech after being officially installed as PM
Andy Burnham was greeted outside No10 by crowds of aides and supporters, who had gathered to hear his first speech to the country
Andy Burnham was officially installed as PM by the King today after Keir Starmer bowed out
Unusually, Mr Burnham was accompanied to meet the King by wife Marie-France van Heel (pictured arriving at Buckingham Palace)
Eco-tycoon Dale Vince was spotted in Downing Street wearing a ‘chips are vegan’ T-shirt, amid confusion over whether the Government will allow more drilling in the North Sea
Keir Starmer is giving a farewell address outside the famous black door of No10, just two years after winning an extraordinary election landslide
In his valedictory statement , Sir Keir said: ‘I am about to visit His Majesty The King to offer my resignation and close the book on my time as Prime Minister.
‘My work is done. In six and a half years, I took our party from a historic defeat in 2019, changed it so it was fit to face the country and won a landslide general election victory in 2024.
‘Since then, it has been the privilege of my life to serve you and this great country as Prime Minister, and I am confident that Britain is now stronger and fairer than it was two years ago.
‘Our economy is stronger. Our public services are on the up, with the biggest fall in waiting times for 17 years. Children are being lifted out of poverty every single day.
‘Immigration is down significantly. Our defence and security are on a far stronger footing and our international reputation is greatly enhanced.’
The handover comes barely a month after Mr Burnham returned to Westminster following his victory in the Makerfield by-election.
He has been installed by Labour MPs in a ‘coronation’, without a formal vote by activists – or having to spell out any policies.
Among the vague commitments laid out by the incoming PM so far are devolving power away from Westminster.
He has announced he will scrap Sir Keir’s flagship digital ID programme to focus money and attention on the cost of living.
In an interview with The Times, Mr Burnham said he had already spoken to the Treasury about his planned announcements and stressed the importance of making people ‘feel better’.
Adding that complaints about frozen tax thresholds had been ‘lodged in his mind’ since the Makerfield contest, he said: ‘So when people, they’re just characterising me as a tax raiser, well again, it’s never that simplistic is it? The breathing space point is a really serious one.’
The comments raise more questions about how Mr Burnham will pay for giveaways, after he backed a ‘land tax’ and harked back to the 1970s condemning Thatcherite reforms.
But the weekend was dominated by bungled briefing over whether the new Government will allow new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.
The leader’s team has now confirmed he will stick to Labour’s 2024 manifesto, which promised not to issue new licences.
Instead he could merely allow expanded drilling at the Rosebank and Jackdaw sites – something that was being considered by Sir Keir’s administration.
That could bode badly for Mr Burnham’s relations with Donald Trump, who yesterday jubilantly hailed more drilling as a way of stopping Britain being a ‘poverty stricken disaster’.
Mr Burnham also faces a decision on whether to temporarily nationalise Thames Water as the firm struggles with a £20billion debt pile.
He has already expressed support for greater public control of essential services, and Thames Water’s main creditors have said they are willing to discuss the issue with his new ministers in an effort to agree a rescue deal and avoid the business falling into a so-called ‘special administration regime’.
Another priority is likely to be reforming social care, which he has said is something he wishes to ‘expend political capital’ on.
The Labour Left is still clamouring for Ed Miliband to be made Chancellor, despite alarm from businesses and moderates
The fates of big beasts such as Angela Rayner, pictured on the campaign trail with Mr Burnham, are due to be decided
Keir Starmer’s resignation was accepted by the King at an audience in Buckingham Palace today
Close Cabinet allies including David Lammy and Rachel Reeves had gathered with hundreds of aides in a sunny Downing Street to watch Sir Keir say goodbye
There was a hug for Chancellor Rachel Reeves – also expected to lose her job – after the speech
Sir Keir gave his wife a kiss as they left Downing Street for the final time today
Sir Keir and Lady Victoria got into a car to be driven to Buckingham Palace after his speech
Kemi Badenoch warned Mr Burnham he will have to cut spending instead of increasing taxes
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has urged Mr Burnham to engage other parties to solve the ‘social care crisis’, calling for guaranteed rights for family carers, a universal safety net and protection against ‘catastrophic costs’.
Kemi Badenoch has also written to Mr Burnham, saying her party will work with him to cut the welfare bill and calling for him to rule out tax rises and back new oil and gas drilling.
Mrs Badenoch told Mr Burnham she would ‘never shirk’ from holding him to account, adding: ‘You will enter office without having set out a clear plan on any of the issues facing our country.
‘You have refused calls to come to Parliament for questions from MPs, and you have not submitted yourself to serious media scrutiny. This is not a promising start.’
