Andy Burnham Becomes Prime Minister and Promises to 'Bring Back Hope'

Andy Burnham became the United Kingdom's new prime minister on Monday after meeting with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace. Standing outside the famous black door of 10 Downing Street, Burnham told the nation he wanted to bring back hope to Britain. He said he plans to make the biggest changes in the last 40 years to British politics. Burnham is the seventh prime minister since 2016, and his arrival in Downing Street was met with cheers from a large crowd of supporters.

One of Burnham's first acts as prime minister was to build his cabinet — the team of senior ministers who help run the country. He appointed John Healey, a long-time Labour politician, as chancellor. The chancellor is the minister in charge of the country's money and economy. Healey had previously left the government over a disagreement about how much money should go toward defence, which is spending on the military and national security.

Burnham said he wants to honour the UK's promises on defence spending. That means Healey will need to find the extra money that Burnham believes the previous government failed to provide. When speaking to reporters, Healey said he and Burnham will work in lockstep — meaning closely together — to follow the rules about government finances and make life more affordable for working people across the UK.

Several other ministers were moved around or removed from their old jobs. Ed Miliband, who was the energy secretary, became the new foreign secretary. He called it the honour of his lifetime, noting that his brother David had held the same job between 2007 and 2010. Yvette Cooper moved from foreign secretary to health secretary, and Shabana Mahmood stayed on as home secretary.

Angela Rayner returned to the cabinet as housing secretary, a role she had held before stepping down in September 2025. She had admitted to underpaying stamp duty — a type of tax — on her home. Wes Streeting, a former health secretary, became the new defence secretary. Louise Haigh was given the role of fixer across the government, taking on several important titles to help keep things running smoothly.

Rachel Reeves lost her job as chancellor, along with David Lammy and Steve Reed, who were seen as allies of former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer. Sir Keir left Downing Street the same day, saying Burnham had his full support. He added that he was proud of everything his government had achieved and that he was leaving with a smile.

In his speech, Burnham did not use a lectern or notes, which was unusual compared to previous prime ministers. He spoke about wanting to end rough sleeping, the situation where people have no home and sleep outside. He had made a similar promise for Greater Manchester when he was mayor there, though he did not fully achieve it. He also said he wants to help more young people find work, build more council homes, and reform the social care system.

Burnham told reporters he would be looking at raising the tax-free personal allowance — the amount of money people can earn before they have to pay income tax. That amount is currently £12,570. He said changing it would be difficult given the state of the economy, and he did not make firm plans ahead of his first budget in autumn.

Leaders from other political parties shared their views. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Burnham had not set out a clear plan for government. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Edward Davey was disappointed not to hear about social care, Europe, or the environment. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called for a general election, saying Burnham does not have a mandate to make such big changes.

On the world stage, Burnham quickly spoke with foreign leaders. He called US President Donald Trump, discussing his vision for the UK, the Middle East, and the World Cup. He also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said support for Ukraine would remain steadfast. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she had a very good first conversation with Burnham and that both sides want to bring the EU and UK closer together.