Andy Burnham Takes Charge As UK PM, Promises To 'Rewire Britain'

Andy Burnham, the former Greater Manchester mayor dubbed the 'King of the North', has become Britain's seventh prime minister in a decade on Monday, promising to "rewire" the nation to better focus on issues people care about, such as the cost-of-living crisis and poorly performing services.

After Keir Starmer made his farewell speech outside his Number 10 Downing Street office and tendered his resignation formally to King Charles, Burnham, 56, met the monarch to become prime minister, Reuters reported.

Describing his election to become Labour leader as "the most significant change moment in our politics for 40 years," Burnham has promised to radically change Britain's political system to quickly raise living standards. "The government I lead will confidently lay that path out starting next week," he said on Friday, promising to offer Britain the hope and change the country "was crying out for."

"It will take us to a country where life is more affordable and all people and places are lifted from where they are now," he said, according to Reuters.

Immediate Challenges And Cabinet Decisions

Burnham faces a long list of problems, from Britain's underperforming utilities to anaemic economic growth, and must first unveil his top team of ministers, already the subject of much debate in the governing Labour Party.

An early frontrunner for the position of finance minister, energy security and net zero minister Ed Miliband, has been on the receiving end of some hostile briefing, and interior minister Shabana Mahmood now appears to be favourite for the job, according to Reuters. Burnham called on his party to ignore "speculation" on Friday and said he had not yet decided on his team.

His early policy decisions will also face scrutiny, with his team keen to move on with his agenda quickly. On Sunday, one early move was to scrap plans for all employees to hold a digital identity document, a scheme designed to tackle illegal migration but deemed to be a "fiasco" by a cross-party committee of lawmaker.

Policy Agenda And Vision

More attention will be paid to Burnham's subsequent decisions, particularly on taxation and spending, oil and gas, and underperforming utilities companies, which he wants to see under stronger public control. On Sunday, his ally, deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell, suggested Thames Water, a debt-stricken utility, could be brought under "special measures," meaning it would operate under government control, as per Reuters.

"He wants to refocus and reprioritise the government's resources, the government's attention onto his priorities of tackling the cost of living, really rewiring the way the country, the economy works," Powell told Sky News.

Burnham's message was made directly to Labour lawmakers, who, after he returned to parliament last month, see him as one of the few politicians who can reduce the threat from veteran Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage's populist Reform UK party.

Rise To Power

Burnham, 56, returned to Westminster earlier this month after winning the Makerfield by-election with a 55 per cent share of the vote, seeing off a challenge from Farage's Reform UK party. He previously served as Greater Manchester's first directly elected mayor, winning three terms and championing bus reform and public transport integration.

He had earlier served in the cabinet under Gordon Brown as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and Secretary of State for Health. Burnham ran for the Labour leadership twice, in 2010 and 2015, losing to Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn respectively.

His appointment comes after Starmer announced his resignation last week after just two years in power, saying he had listened to his party and realised he was no longer the man to lead it into the next election.