‘Starting tomorrow’ – Andy Burnham teases first major move as UK PM

By Tolulope Oke

Britain’s new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has promised immediate intervention in the country’s cost-of-living crisis, saying his government’s first measures will be announced on Tuesday.

Burnham made the declaration during his first address outside 10 Downing Street after King Charles III formally appointed him to succeed Keir Starmer.

The former Greater Manchester mayor said the measures would give struggling households “more breathing room,” with details of how the intervention will be funded also expected.

However, Burnham said Britons would have to wait until later in the year for the unveiling of his broader 10-year plan to transform the country.

Speaking without a lectern in a break with Downing Street tradition, the new prime minister described his arrival as a “circuit breaker” after years of political turmoil.

He admitted that the public were “fed up with politics” and conceded that his generation of politicians had “not been good enough.”

Burnham promised a more collaborative government focused on solving problems rather than scoring political points.

He said his administration would pursue reforms aimed at getting more young people into employment, expanding mental health support and building more council homes.

The prime minister also revealed that his first instruction after entering Number 10 would be to “end rough sleeping in our country.”

Burnham pledged to transfer power from Westminster to communities across Britain, arguing that decades of centralisation and privatisation had left several parts of the country trapped in decline.

He promised to place essential services such as housing, water, transport and energy under stronger public control to make them more affordable.

His government will also use public procurement to support British industries and drive the reindustrialisation of communities affected by decades of economic decline.

Burnham said the government would invest earlier in people’s lives rather than continue spending heavily to address social and economic failures after they occur.

He maintained that the programme would respect Britain’s financial rules while allowing the country to meet its international defence commitments.

Burnham acknowledged that he was the seventh British prime minister since 2016 and said restoring political stability and public confidence would be one of his administration’s biggest challenges.

He entered Downing Street after Starmer formally tendered his resignation to King Charles following two years in office.