Andy Burnham takes over as new UK prime minister, sets 10-year plan for Britain
New Delhi: Andy Burnham took over as the United Kingdom’s new prime minister, replacing Keir Starmer, who came to power in 2024.
In his first address as the prime minister, he laid out his work priorities, giving an insight into what he plans to repair in the system for the British people. “I have just come from the Buckingham Palace, where I have accepted his majesty the King’s invitation to form a government,” he said.
He added that in doing so, he is “acutely conscious” that he is the sixth person in the last 10 years to walk up this street and the seventh prime minister since 2016. According to him, it is a “moment for reflection and new resolution”.
He said that it was his generation of politicians that would require to “raise our game and rise to the new challenge”. He acknowledged that Britain needs to show the world that it can regain its stability once again and that is their challenge “to make politics work” and “to make it work better”.
He said that he was aware that “people at home are fed up with politics”. Burnham said, “I hear you and I want to be honest with you – we have not been good enough and we need to be better.”
He said that he would bring about the biggest changes in the last 40 years, comprising a new political model and a new economic model. “In the 1980s, Britain took some wrong turns. Political power was centralised, political power privatised, large parts of the country deindustrialised and they still haven’t recovered.”
He said we will change politics to make it more “collaborative” and it would be “more about problem-solving than point scoring”.
He said his focus would be on “reindustrialising Britain using public procurement to back British industry”. Burnham announced that he would bring forward a new 10-year plan for Britain by laying out a path from “where we are now to what I believe we all want Britain to be”.
Announcing his immediate plans, he said that starting Tuesday, he would implement measures on the cost of living to help and give people some breathing space, including how people will pay for them.
Keir Starmer resigns
Keir Starmer, the previous UK prime minister tendered his resignation to the king, Charles III, ahead of Burnham assuming office. In a statement, the Buckingham Palace said, “Sir Keir Starmer MP had an audience of the King this morning and tendered his resignation as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury which His Majesty was graciously pleased to accept. [Sic]”
In his farewell speech, ahead of his meeting with the king, Keir Starmer said, “I go with good grace, I go with a smile and I go proud of everything that we have achieved.”
He said that in six-and-a-half years, he took the Labour 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 stronger and fairer than it was two years ago.”
He added that children are being lifted out of poverty every single day, immigration is down significantly, and defence and security are on a far stronger footing and Britain’s international security is greatly enhanced.
Hinting at Russia, he added, “We face a world now where our enemies will stop at nothing to divide us because of our values, our freedom, our decency and frankly because of our unflinching resolve towards the brave people of Ukraine. And so under this attack, it is vital that we remember the greatness of the Britain all around us.”
Regarding the handover to Burnham, Starmer said, “As I pass the baton to Andy Burnham, I wish him every success. He has my full support.”
