New leader of the Labour Party Andy Burnham on Monday assumed the office of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Sky News reports, citing Buckingham Palace.
"His Majesty the King has received Member of Parliament Andy Burnham and requested him to form a new administration," the TV channel quotes the statement from the British monarch’s residence as saying.
"Mr. Burnham accepted His Majesty’s offer and has been appointed Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury," the statement continues.
In this position, Burnham succeeds Keir Starmer, who resigned on Monday. Burnham may deliver an address later.
Burnham officially became the new leader of the Labour Party on Friday, succeeding Starmer in this role.
In June, Starmer announced his intention to resign as party leader and, consequently, as Prime Minister after many party colleagues urged him to do so due to accumulated grievances, in particular, the party’s poor results in municipal council elections in England, as well as in the parliaments of Wales and Scotland. After this, Burnham became the sole contender in the fight for party leadership and therefore won automatically.
Burnham stated that under his leadership, London’s position on Ukraine would not change, and he would continue to support Kyiv.
Burnham was born on January 7, 1970, in the Liverpool suburb of Aintree; his father worked as an engineer, and his mother as a receptionist at a general practitioner’s office. At age 15, the future Prime Minister became a member of the Labour Party, inspired by his parents, who were union members.
The future Prime Minister graduated from Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge, where he studied English philology. After graduating, Burnham moved to London, where he worked for some time at Tank World magazine. After working on the staff of MP Tessa Jowell, as well as in a number of secondary roles in Parliament, he was elected to the House of Commons in 2001, where he served until 2017.
During this time, he held a number of positions in the government of Prime Minister Tony Blair, and also served as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Secretary of State for Health in the government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
In 2017, Burnham left Parliament and won the election for Mayor of Greater Manchester. In this position, Burnham distinguished himself with successes in urban improvement and infrastructure development, for which he earned the nickname "King of the North" in the English media. He held this position until 2026 and left it only to return to Parliament.
In 2000, Burnham married Marie-France van Heel; they have a son and two daughters.
