New prime minister says government must ‘do better’ to deliver change but promises prudent approach to economyUK politics live – latest updatesAndy Burnham has said his arrival in power will “bring back hope” to Britain as he launched his premiership with the surprise appointment of John Healey as chancellor and a promise to repair the damage caused to communities during the Thatcher era.The new UK prime minister acknowledged people were “fed up” with politics as he addressed the country after taking over from Keir Starmer in Downing Street, saying the government needed to “do better” to deliver real change. Andy Burnham promises 'new economic and political model' as UK prime minister Submitted by Oscar Rickett on Mon, 07/20/2026 - 12:34 Burnham appears to herald break from neoliberalism as he takes over from Keir Starmer Britain's King Charles III poses with incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham, during an audience at Buckingham Palace, London, on 20 July 2026 (Aaron Chown/AFP) Off Andy Burnham has taken over from Keir Starmer as prime minister of the UK, promising to deliver a “new political model and a new economic model” for the country. Speaking to the nation in front of 10 Downing Street on Monday, the former mayor of Manchester said he was “acutely conscious” of the fact that he is the UK’s seventh prime minister since 2016.
“It requires my generation of politicians to raise our game and rise to the new challenge,” Burnham, a minister during the New Labour era of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, said. Echoing another former Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, Burnham said his first instruction as prime minister would be to “end rough sleeping in our country”. “Later this year I will bring forward a new plan for Britain, a 10-year plan laying out a path from where we are now to where I believe we all want Britain to be, wherever we’re coming from, whatever party we support,” Burnham said.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); “But I can do something to give people some breathing space now, some help with the cost of living. And I will set out some of those measures starting tomorrow, including how we pay for them.” 'Britain took some wrong turns' The new prime minister did not mention foreign policy, except to say that he would address Britain’s cost of living crisis while still honouring the country’s defence “commitment to international partners”. “In the 1980s, Britain took some wrong turns,” Burnham said, as he promised a “new political model and a new economic model”, appearing to outline a break with the neoliberal model brought in by Margaret Thatcher in 1979.
'Political power was centralised, economic power privatised, large parts of the country deindustrialised, and they still haven’t recovered' - Andy Burnham, UK prime minister “Political power was centralised, economic power privatised, large parts of the country deindustrialised, and they still haven’t recovered,” Burnham said. “Many feel as though they’re still in decline, and they don’t ha… Former Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is set to become the United Kingdom's new Prime Minister this Monday.
He will do so having reiterated a commitment to help raise the standard of living in the country. However, the Labour leader's agenda will be tested by the country's financial situation and his prior commitments, both of which will limit the scope of his plans. In this segment, we'll look at how his policies promise to deliver higher growth in the short and long term.
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