The Right Hon Andrew M. Burnham became United Kingdom’s (UK) 7th Prime Minister in a decade on Monday, July 20, 2026. Photo: Al Jazeera

Andrew M. Burnham, the UK’s new Prime Minister promised to rewire the nation to focus more clearly on issues people care about. Photo: UPI

In June 2026, Keir R. Starmer announced he was standing down as Prime Minister after days of intense pressure from Labour MPs, including cabinet ministers.

Burnham, according to the UK government’s website, was elected Member of Parliament for Leigh in June 2001. He served in government between 2007 and 2010 and as a Shadow Secretary of State for Health, Shadow Secretary of State for Education, and Shadow Home Secretary while in opposition. He was elected Mayor of Greater Manchester in May 2017, and re-elected in 2021 and 2024.

He returned to Parliament as Member of Parliament for Makerfield in June 2026, and was elected Leader of the Labour Party on July 16, 2026.

‘We need to be better’- PM Burnham

During his first speech as Prime Minister, outside 10 Downing Street, Burnham promised to rewire the nation to focus more clearly on issues people care about. “I know people at home are fed up with politics. 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.

The UK’s new Prime Minister said his government will make this moment a “circuit breaker” for Britain and bring some of the biggest changes in the last forty years with a new political and economic model.

“It’s about putting the right values and the right standards at the heart of government. I will put the care of people at the heart of everything i do.”

He encouraged everyone to help build a new national sense of unity, common purpose, and positivity. “Let us make this the moment when Britain starts to believe again, the moment we bring back hope.”