Keir Starmer officially resigned as prime minister on Monday, travelling to Buckingham Palace to tender his resignation to King Charles, who was "graciously pleased" to accept it. He departs as Andy Burnham has now become Prime Minister of the UK.
In his farewell address outside Number 10, Starmer warned that "we face a world now where our enemies will stop at nothing to divide us." He added, "My work is done," despite his government being dogged by record levels of mass migration and alleged suppression of free speech. During his time as prime minister, Labour suffered a wipeout in local and council elections as Reform UK surged in the polls.
Burnham, the former Greater Manchester mayor who returned to Westminster only weeks ago before winning the Labour leadership unopposed, has been received by the King and appointed prime minister - Britain's seventh in a decade. Speaking outside Number 10 without a lectern, Burnham said he was "acutely conscious" of being the latest in a long line of short-lived leaders, telling the crowd "we have not been good enough" and that his generation of politicians must "raise our game."
He promised to serve as a "circuit-breaker for Britain," pledging "a new economic model, a new political model" and a full 10-year plan for the country later this year. "I will put the care of people at the heart of everything I do," he said, closing with a call to "make this the moment that Britain starts to believe again." Burnham has long been associated with the more spending-inclined wing of the Labour Party, arguing in January that Britain should not be held "hostage" to the bond market and should borrow more to invest. A spokesperson for Burnham confirmed days before he entered Downing Street that he would also scrap Starmer's highly controversial digital ID scheme.
President Donald Trump used Truth Social over the weekend to welcome reports that Burnham intends to open up North Sea oil production. "The people of Aberdeen, in Scotland, are dancing in the streets," Trump wrote, calling the North Sea "one of the greatest sources of quality oil on Earth" and predicting it would take Britain "from a poverty stricken disaster, to one of the richest countries anywhere in the world."
Immigration continues to poll as the top concern of voters in the UK. As mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham was critical of the number of asylum seekers placed in the region. However, he has voiced reservations about the policies of the Starmer-appointed Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, whose new plans could prevent migrants from settling permanently in the UK. Burnham now says he backs "the thrust" of Mahmood's plans and voted for the government's asylum bill at its second reading. Mahmood, who visited Denmark in February to argue that Britain must adopt elements of the Danish immigration model, is now expected to move from the Home Office, reportedly to become chancellor, at a time when, as Burnham himself has acknowledged, immigration remains the country's most pressing issue.
Burnham has said he will act immediately to end homelessness. He has promised to set out cost-of-living measures from Tuesday, alongside the longer-term 10-year plan due later in the year. With Labour still trailing Reform UK in national polling and roughly two years remaining before the next scheduled election, Burnham's early decisions are likely to determine whether Labour can recover ground and avoid electoral wipeout before voters next go to the polls.
In his farewell address outside Number 10, Starmer warned that "we face a world now where our enemies will stop at nothing to divide us." He added, "My work is done," despite his government being dogged by record levels of mass migration and alleged suppression of free speech. During his time as prime minister, Labour suffered a wipeout in local and council elections as Reform UK surged in the polls.
Burnham, the former Greater Manchester mayor who returned to Westminster only weeks ago before winning the Labour leadership unopposed, has been received by the King and appointed prime minister - Britain's seventh in a decade. Speaking outside Number 10 without a lectern, Burnham said he was "acutely conscious" of being the latest in a long line of short-lived leaders, telling the crowd "we have not been good enough" and that his generation of politicians must "raise our game."
He promised to serve as a "circuit-breaker for Britain," pledging "a new economic model, a new political model" and a full 10-year plan for the country later this year. "I will put the care of people at the heart of everything I do," he said, closing with a call to "make this the moment that Britain starts to believe again." Burnham has long been associated with the more spending-inclined wing of the Labour Party, arguing in January that Britain should not be held "hostage" to the bond market and should borrow more to invest. A spokesperson for Burnham confirmed days before he entered Downing Street that he would also scrap Starmer's highly controversial digital ID scheme.
President Donald Trump used Truth Social over the weekend to welcome reports that Burnham intends to open up North Sea oil production. "The people of Aberdeen, in Scotland, are dancing in the streets," Trump wrote, calling the North Sea "one of the greatest sources of quality oil on Earth" and predicting it would take Britain "from a poverty stricken disaster, to one of the richest countries anywhere in the world."
Immigration continues to poll as the top concern of voters in the UK. As mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham was critical of the number of asylum seekers placed in the region. However, he has voiced reservations about the policies of the Starmer-appointed Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, whose new plans could prevent migrants from settling permanently in the UK. Burnham now says he backs "the thrust" of Mahmood's plans and voted for the government's asylum bill at its second reading. Mahmood, who visited Denmark in February to argue that Britain must adopt elements of the Danish immigration model, is now expected to move from the Home Office, reportedly to become chancellor, at a time when, as Burnham himself has acknowledged, immigration remains the country's most pressing issue.
Burnham has said he will act immediately to end homelessness. He has promised to set out cost-of-living measures from Tuesday, alongside the longer-term 10-year plan due later in the year. With Labour still trailing Reform UK in national polling and roughly two years remaining before the next scheduled election, Burnham's early decisions are likely to determine whether Labour can recover ground and avoid electoral wipeout before voters next go to the polls.
