Published on •Updated
New UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham used his first speech outside Downing Street to promise political stability after years of upheaval, while vowing to maintain support for Ukraine and tackle the cost-of-living crisis that has squeezed households across the country.
Burnham, who became Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade after replacing Keir Starmer, said his government would work to restore confidence in politics by delivering “hope” and “national renewal”.
He pledged to introduce a long-term plan to rebuild the country, arguing that Britain needed a “circuit-breaker” from decades of economic and political decline.
“Britain needs to show the world that we can regain our stability once again,” Burnham said just after being appointed by King Charles III to take over from Keir Starmer.
He pledged to “issue my first instruction to end rough sleeping in our country” once he starts work.
Starmer departed Downing Street on Monday morning, insisting in a farewell speech his two years in office had made Britain a better place.
The monarch met Starmer to accept his resignation and Burnham arrived next for the formal procedure in which the king asked him to form the next government and he accepted.
The 56-year-old is the sixth prime minister to enter Downing Street in the last 10 years.
Additional sources • AFP