Andy Burnham Becomes UK's 7th Prime Minister in a Decade

Andy Burnham was formally appointed British prime minister on Monday, July 20, after meeting King Charles III at Buckingham Palace, succeeding Keir Starmer as Britain's 59th head of government.

Starmer resigned on June 22 following mounting political pressure, including backlash over appointing Peter Mandelson as US ambassador despite his Epstein ties and heavy Labour losses in May's local elections. Burnham, the 56-year-old former Greater Manchester mayor known as the "King of the North," ran unopposed and secured backing from 379 of Labour's 403 MPs.

Burnham pledged to be "a leader for the North, the South, the East and the West, for Scotland, Wales and for Northern Ireland," promising a new 10-year plan focused on affordability and reducing regional inequality. He becomes the seventh prime minister to occupy Number 10 in the past decade, underscoring Britain's continued political turbulence since the 2016 Brexit vote.