LONDON (AP) — Andy Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester and new leader of the Labour Party, took the final steps on Monday to succeed Keir Starmer and become Britain's seventh prime minister in a decade.
The affable Burnham returned to Parliament in June by winning a risky special election and was sworn in as a member on July 12, hours after the unpopular Starmer announced his resignation to end a tenure of just two years in office.
Starmer traveled the mile from Downing Street to Buckingham Palace on Monday to formally tell King Charles III that he was resigning and Charles accepted, Buckingham Palace said.
The 56-year-old Burnham then arrived at the palace and accepted the invitation by Charles to form a government in a moment known as “kissing hands.”
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With Burnham now installed as prime minister, attention turns to his choices for Cabinet, particularly the key post of Treasury chief.
The appointment will be pivotal because the head of the Treasury Department, formally known as chancellor of the exchequer, controls tax and spending decisions.
Burnham’s choice will give clues about his plans as he faces the immense task of kickstarting a sluggish economy so that growing companies and increased output boost government revenue without raising taxes.
The decision has been considered finely balanced between Ed Miliband, the outgoing energy secretary, and Shabana Mahmood, the current home secretary.
While Miliband comes from the party’s left wing, Mahmoud is seen as more conservative and has the advantage of being something of a blank slate in terms of economic positions, allowing Burnham to fully take the lead on the economy.
The other top jobs are defense secretary, foreign secretary and home secretary, who controls immigration and policing.
Burnham says his first calls to foreign leaders will be to U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy,
Burnham has spent a decade as mayor of Greater Manchester and has little experience of international affairs.
A big question is how he will get along with Trump, the unpredictable leader of the U.K.’s closest ally.
Burnham says he wants to reassure Ukraine that “I will be with him 100%” and “Britain’s support is steadfast, it is resolute.”
One of the most solemn moments of Burnham’s first day will be the realization that he has the power to launch Britain’s nuclear missiles.
That will become clear when the U.K.’s top civil servant asks him to write “last resort letters” to the captains of the country’s four nuclear-armed submarines telling them what to do if the civilian leadership is wiped out by a nuclear attack.
It is a duty unique to Britain, where there is no “nuclear football,” the briefcase containing targeting data and launch codes that accompanies U.S. presidents wherever they go.
The letters are placed on each submarine inside safes that are to be opened only if their captains are certain Britain’s civilian leaders are dead.
The letters are destroyed unread when a new prime minister takes office. But it is believed there are four options: retaliate, don’t retaliate, use your own judgment, or put your weapons under the command of the U.S. or Australia.
In his first speech as prime minister, Burnham sketched out some of his priorities, though he offered no details and said he would set out some of the measures on Tuesday.
Burnham said he would decentralize power and help make essentials affordable again under the cost of living squeeze.
Burnham said he would back British industry and “reindustrialize Britain.”
He pledged to bring the welfare bill down and build more social housing, as well as be more supportive of the underfunded education system.
He also vowed to “end rough sleeping in this country,” referring to homeless people sleeping in the open.
European Council President Antonio Costa congratulated Burnham on his new job.
“In the last two years EU-UK relations gained a new, positive momentum. I look forward to continuing to further deepen our cooperation for the benefit of our citizens and businesses, he said in a message on X.
“The United Kingdom and the European Union are stronger together,” he added.
The U.K. left the European Union after a referendum a decade ago.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham entered Downing Street regaled by the applause traditional for a new leader.
The first time a prime minister walks through the uber-polished door of 10 Downing St., household staff and civil servants by custom line the entrance and clap for the new leader and his senior team.
It is Burnham’s introduction to the people he will live and work with, most of whom served his predecessor only a few hours earlier.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham says politicians “need to be better” in his first speech as Britain’s leader.
He is promising to deliver a “circuit breaker” for a system he says has taken wrong turns since the 1980s.
Burnham spoke outside 10 Downing St. minutes after he was formally asked to form a government by King Charles III.
In a break with tradition, Burnham ditched using a lectern, speaking in front of two microphones outside the famous shiny black door of the prime minister’s residence.
Prime ministers typically speak from a lectern clad with the royal crest that features a lion and a unicorn, the national animals, respectively, of England and Scotland.
In order to challenge Starmer for the Labour Party’s leadership position, Burnham had to take a big political gamble.
He first had to win a seat in Parliament and then amass the necessary support to launch a bid to topple Starmer.
As internal pressure mounted in May for Starmer to resign, Josh Simons, the Labour lawmaker for the seat of Makerfield near Manchester, stepped down, triggering a special election.
It was no shoe-in.
The anti-immigration Reform UK party had recently devastated Labour in local elections in the area, which had led to calls for Starmer’s resignation.
The bet paid off for Burnham, who is well-known and popular in the area, and he breezed to victory when the votes were tallied June 19.
Dozens of Labour lawmakers cheered as he was sworn in June 22.
Starmer ultimately stepped down and Burnham faced no opposition in running to become party leader.
Dark T-shirts and dark jeans are typically part of the work uniform for Burnham, who is seen as a more relaxed and natural communicator compared to the buttoned-up Starmer.
But he changed out of his usual casual wear on Monday, donning a dark suit, white dress shirt and blue tie as he met King Charles III at Buckingham Palace to get the formal go-ahead to become prime minister.
Andy Burnham has formally accepted an invitation from King Charles III to form a government.
Buckingham Palace has released a photo of the two men shaking hands. The ceremony known as “kissing hands” marks the transfer of power from former leader Keir Starmer to Burnham.
Burnham replaced Starmer as leader of the center-left governing Labour Party last week.
Burnham was chosen as Labour Party leader by 379 fellow lawmakers after Starmer said he was resigning. Because Labour holds a majority in government, its leader also becomes the U.K. prime minister.
Under Britain’s parliamentary democracy system, governing parties can change leaders midterm, with the winner becoming prime minister without the need for a general election. Prime ministers can be replaced if one has resigned as leader of their party, or been forced out by a leadership challenge.
It’s not unusual for British prime ministers to come to power without a broad election. In fact, four of the six British prime ministers in the past decade took the top job by winning internal party leadership contests to replace their predecessors, not by public vote.
Andy Burnham has arrived at Buckingham Palace to be appointed Britain’s new prime minister.
Burnham is set to meet King Charles III, who will ask him to form a government.
It comes soon after Keir Starmer went to the palace and formally resigned.
The king’s role harkens back to a time when the monarch exercised supreme power and chose a prime minister to run the government.
Today, the king has no political power, but the monarch still officially offers the job to the leader of the party that can command a majority in the House of Commons.
Starmer and his family left the palace privately.
While he was seen arriving in a chauffeured black car, helicopter footage did not show Starmer leaving.
The change of British leadership happening inside Buckingham Palace coincided with the changing of the guard outside.
With King Charles III accepting Starmer’s resignation as prime minister in the Chinese drawing room, the guards who protect the palace were changing shift.
The heavily choreographed ceremony draws thousands of tourists several days a week.
A military band in scarlet tunics and bearskin hats marched from the palace to be replaced by a fresh detachment.
One of the biggest challenges facing Britain’s new prime minister is finding a way to kickstart the U.K.’s sluggish economy so that growing companies and increased output boost government revenue without raising taxes.
It’s a problem that has bedeviled every prime minister since the financial crisis of 2008. And their failure to solve it is part of the reason that Burnham is the U.K.’s eighth prime minister in the past 16 years.
The British economy has grown an average of less than 1.5% annually since 2009, compared with an annual average of 3% in the 15 years before the financial crisis.
While devising his economic plan, Burnham will be constrained by promises to reduce government debt, which now equals more than 95% of gross domestic product, the highest since the early 1960s, while not raising taxes on working people.
King Charles III has accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Buckingham Palace said.
Starmer was accompanied by his wife, Victoria.
The palace said the king “was graciously pleased to accept” Starmer’s resignation.
Andy Burnham will soon head to the palace to get the king’s assent to become the next prime minister.
Starmer is meeting with King Charles in the Chinese drawing room at Buckingham Palace.
His teenage children are expected to join Starmer and his wife, Victoria.
In his final speech as prime minister, Starmer thanked the British people “for the opportunity to serve.”
“As I now pass the baton to Andy Burnham, I wish him every success,” he said. “He has my full support.”
“For all the focus on individuals, politics will always be a team sport, and the changes we’ve delivered for our country and our party belong to everyone who has fought for them,” Starmer said.
He ended by saying, “I go with good grace, I go with a smile, and I go proud of everything that we have achieved.”
Just over two years ago, Starmer and his wife, Victoria, held hands as they walked up to their new home at 10 Downing Street.
They left in the same manner.
After hugging and kissing his Treasury chief, Rachel Reeves, and a few others among the crowd of cheer supporters, Starmer took his wife’s right hand and walked down the street.
They got in a waiting black car and left behind an escort of police on motorcycles as they headed to Buckingham Palace, where he will offer his resignation to King Charles III.
Keir Starmer said “my work is done,” as he prepares to leave Downing Street for the last time to resign as prime minister.
The outgoing leader, forced to resign by his own party, said Britain is now stronger and fairer than it was two years ago.”
Starmer spoke outside 10 Downing St. before he heads to Buckingham Palace to offer his resignation to King Charles III.
Andy Burnham will make a speech in the same spot after he is formally appointed prime minister by the king.
Dozens of reporters and photographers from international media have packed the street outside No. 10 Downing Street.
They have gathered about half an hour ahead of Keir Starmer’s departure from his official residence to see King Charles III and formally resign as prime minister.
Police have put up extra metal barriers outside the famous black door to prevent people standing directly in front.
You know it’s the business of government — and not just politics — when the lectern in front of 10 Downing Street features the curious crest with a lion and a unicorn on it.
The lectern was set up in advance of Keir Starmer’s final speech as prime minister.
The two creatures share the distinction of being part of the royal coat of arms since the 17th century.
The lion, although never living in the wild of England, is its national animal. The unicorn, though fictional, is Scotland’s official animal.
The two became part of the crest when the two crowns were united in 1603, when King James I ascended the throne in England. He was already King James VI in Scotland.
Protesters have a habit of blasting music that mocks prime ministers outside 10 Downing Street.
Starmer did not escape the abuse, nor did his predecessor.
But Burnham could avoid an unwanted soundtrack after the Metropolitan Police banned the use of loud speakers by anyone gathering outside the gates to Downing Street between 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Starmer began his resignation speech last month as the European Union anthem, Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” echoed from the walls behind him.
Rishi Sunak, the Conservative Party’s last prime minister, was nearly drowned out by the volume when he called the July 4, 2024, election that would see Starmer and Labour sweep him out of office.
It seemed prescient as Sunak stood in a downpour to the tune of D:Ream’s “Things Can Only Get Better,” a rival Labour campaign song from the Tony Blair era.
Headlines the next day showed a soaked Sunak and said, “Things can only get wetter.”
The political ritual at Buckingham Palace to change British prime ministers has specific steps.
The outgoing prime minister, Keir Starmer in this case, goes to the palace to offer his resignation to the king.
Then the incoming prime minister, Andy Burnham later today, sweeps in for a private ceremony known as the “Kissing of Hands,’’ though no hands are actually kissed.
Instead, the king will ask Burnham to form a new government. Burnham will bow, shake Charles’ hand and assume his new role. A photo will be snapped to record the moment power is transferred.
“The proof, if proof were needed, is the photograph and the film footage that we will also see of the encounter,″ said Joe Little, the managing editor of Majesty Magazine. “That is the defining moment.”
Outside the palace, there is usually a swirl of activity as commentators breathlessly speculate on what’s being said inside and news helicopters hover overhead.
Traditionally, the new prime minister leaves the palace in a government car and heads to his official home and office behind the famous black door of No. 10 Downing Street, where he will make a statement.
Andy Burnham served in Labour governments two decades ago before leaving London in 2017 to run for mayor of Greater Manchester.
Burnham was a popular leader for the northwest England city, overseeing economic regeneration, improved public transport and growing cultural confidence.
Burnham, 56, says he had “unfinished business” on the national stage and Starmer’s troubles gave him the opportunity to return to Parliament after winning a special election.
Burnham says he will replicate “Manchesterism” on a national scale, harnessing public and private investment to spur economic growth and handing power from central government to local and regional leaders across the country. And he’s pledging to restore a sense of hope to politics.
But he will have to convince a skeptical British public that he has what it takes to make their lives better.
Andy Burnham has been U.K. leader in waiting for the past week. But he does not become prime minister until King Charles says so.
That will happen today at Buckingham Palace in an exchange that embodies the fact that in this parliamentary democracy, the right to govern is still derived from royal authority.
The ceremony harkens back to a time when the king exercised supreme power and chose his preeminent minister, the prime minister, to run his government.
That has changed, of course. Modern Britain is a constitutional monarchy where the king’s powers are strictly limited by law and tradition. But centuries after real power was transferred to the elected House of Commons, many things retain echoes of the past.
One of those is the moment when the king formally asks a politician selected by his or her party to form the next government.
Britain got its most recent prime minister just two years ago, when Keir Starmer led the Labour Party to a landslide election victory.
Starmer’s honeymoon was short-lived. A series of missteps and policy U-turns saw public support drain away. After dire local election results in May, the Labour Party took the nuclear option and forced him to resign.
Britain’s parliamentary democracy allows governing parties to change leaders midterm, with the winner becoming prime minister without the need for a general election.
The next national election does not have to be held until 2029, five years from the last election in 2024, though Burnham can call one sooner if he wants.
Before the day is over, Andy Burnham is likely to encounter Larry the cat, the most famous permanent resident of No. 10 Downing Street.
The gray and white tabby has lived at the prime minister’s residence since 2011, surviving six of Burnham’s predecessors.
A one-time stray adopted to help combat a rodent problem, Larry now regally patrols Downing Street, often appearing just as visiting dignitaries arrive.
He already has been seen Monday morning, the center of attention in front of the polished black door.
Larry is the most stable thing in British politics, said photographer Justin Ng, one of the cat’s most frequent chroniclers.
″(He’s) like the night watchman of Downing Street,’’ Ng said. “He’s looking out, looking out for people. People are reassured (by) his presence that things will carry on.
These days Larry has his own profile on the government website and more than 900,000 followers on X. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte recently stopped to say hello, but all leaders hope to be seen by his side.
Now he just has to win over Burnham’s dog, Axel. No problem, right?
It’s a day of action at Downing Street, the British prime minister’s official residence.
Departing leader Keir Starmer will give a short farewell speech before going to Buckingham Palace to tender his resignation to King Charles III. The king will then invite new Labour Party leader Andy Burnham to the palace and ask him to form a government.
Burnham will then address the nation for the first time as prime minister in front of the famous black door of 10 Downing St.
Labour is hoping Burnham’s arrival will signal an end to the rapid turnover of U.K. leaders. He will be the country’s seventh prime minister since 2016.
Sir Clive Alderton, Principal Private Secretary to the King and Queen, right, with Prime Minister Andy Burnham and his wife Marie-France van Heel, as they leave Buckingham Palace in London after an audience with King Charles III, where he was invited to become Prime Minister and form a new government, Monday July 20, 2026. (Aaron Chown/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's new Prime Minister Andy Burnham and his wife Marie-France van Heel arrive at 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, July 20, 2026.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Britain's new Prime Minister Andy Burnham speaks to staff and media at 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, July 20, 2026.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Britain's new Prime Minister Andy Burnham speaks to staff and media at 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, July 20, 2026.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Britain's new Prime Minister Andy Burnham and his wife Marie-France van Heel wave as they arrive at 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, July 20, 2026.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Britain's King Charles III welcomes Andy Burnham, left, during an audience at Buckingham Palace, London, where he invited the leader of the Labour Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government, Monday July 20, 2026. (Aaron Chown/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's King Charles III welcomes Andy Burnham, during an audience at Buckingham Palace, London, where he invited the leader of the Labour Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government, Monday July 20, 2026. (Aaron Chown/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's King Charles III welcomes Andy Burnham, left, during an audience at Buckingham Palace, London, where he invited the leader of the Labour Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government, Monday July 20, 2026. (Aaron Chown/Pool Photo via AP)
Sir Clive Alderton, left, Principal Private Secretary to the King and Queen, left, greets outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria, as he arrives at Buckingham Palace in London, Monday July 20, 2026. (Aaron Chown/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks as he leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, July 20, 2026.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Britain's King Charles III welcomes outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer, during an audience at Buckingham Palace in London, Monday July 20, 2026. (Aaron Chown/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks as he leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, July 20, 2026.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Britain's outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks as he leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, July 20, 2026..(AP Photo/Thomas Krych)
Britain's outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer hugs Ben Nunn as he leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, July 20, 2026.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Britain's outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer receives applause as he leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, July 20, 2026.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Britain's outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks as he leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, July 20, 2026.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
A protester wears a face mask mocking Andy Burnham outside Downing Street as Labour Party leader Andy Burnham is set to become the U.K.'s new prime minister on Monday, succeeding Keir Starmer in London, Monday, July 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Larry the cat, Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, sits on the doorstep to No10 Downing Street as Labour Party leader Andy Burnham is set to become the U.K.'s new prime minister, succeeding Keir Starmer in London, Monday, July 20, 2026.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Workers put up a lectern for the speech of Britain's outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, July 20, 2026.(AP Photo/Thomas Krych)
The statue of Winston Chruchill is silhouetted against the sky with the backdrop of the Elizabeth Tower, commonly known as Big Ben, as Labour Party leader Andy Burnham is set to become the U.K.'s new prime minister on Monday, succeeding Keir Starmer in London, Monday, July 20, 2026.(AP Photo/Thomas Krych)
Reporters prepare in Downing Street as Labour Party leader Andy Burnham is set to become the U.K.'s new prime minister on Monday, succeeding Keir Starmer in London, Monday, July 20, 2026.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
A camera screen shows the No10 door in Downing Street as Labour Party leader Andy Burnham is set to become the U.K.'s new prime minister, succeeding Keir Starmer in London, Monday, July 20, 2026.(AP Photo/Thomas Krych)
Newly confirmed Labour Party leader Andy Burnham speaks with local stakeholders and party supporters during a visit to Gravesend Town Pier, Gravesend , England, Friday July 17, 2026. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
Newly confirmed Labour Party leader Andy Burnham speaks with local stakeholders and party supporters during a visit to Gravesend Town Pier, Gravesend , England, Friday July 17, 2026. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
Andy Burnham speaks after being confirmed as the Labour Party's new leader and the country's next prime minister, during 'Labour's Special Conference' in central London, Friday July 17, 2026. (Henry Nicholls/Pool Photo via AP)
