New UK PM Andy Burnham promises ‘biggest changes’ in 40 years in bold first speech

New UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has promised to end rough sleeping and introduce a new political and economic model in the biggest change to Britain in four decades.

The so-called “King of the North” ditched his normally casual attire and the now-famous podium outside 10 Downing Street as he made his first declarations as leader just minutes after shaking hands with the actual monarch, King Charles III.

Burnham is the UK’s seventh prime minister in a decade and wasted no time in acknowledging this, whacking his fellow politicians and calling on them to “raise our game and rise to the new challenge”.

“Britain needs to show the world that we can regain our stability once again, and that is our challenge: to make politics work, to make it work better,” he said on Monday afternoon (Monday night AEST).

“I know people at home are fed up with politics. I hear you, and I want to be honest with you, we have not been good enough, and we need to be better, and we will be.”

The former Greater Manchester mayor took over the Labour party leadership – and thus the premiership – from the dramatically unpopular Keir Starmer after being parachuted into the House of Commons via a byelection.

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He promised new cost of living measures on Tuesday and a 10-year plan for Britain by the end of the year in a speech full of bold promises and a pledge to spread political power outside of London.

“We will make this moment a circuit breaker for Britain, bringing forward the biggest changes in the last 40 years, a new political model, and a new economic model,” Burnham said.

“In the 1980s, Britain took some wrong turns. Political power was centralised, economic power privatised, large parts of the country deindustrialised, and they still haven’t recovered.

“Many feel as though they’re still in decline, and they don’t have the ability to turn things around. 

“And that’s why we will change politics to make it more collaborative, more about problem solving than point scoring, and we will take power out of here and carry it into every postcode in the land.”

Bold pledge on homelessness

A large crowd gathered outside the prime minister’s residence erupted in cheers and applause as he declared his first instruction on walking through the door behind him would be to “end rough sleeping”.

He made the same pledge in Greater Manchester to mixed results, bringing the number of rough sleepers down to 89 in 2021 before they rose four years in a row to almost 200 last year, Professor Philip Brown wrote in The Conversation. Brown noted national factors played a role.

Burnham started the day meeting homeless people on the street with staff from The Passage Homeless Charity in London and helping prepare breakfast in its kitchen.

Burnham wore a suit for the special occasion but reportedly plans to dress in his familiar more-casual style any time he’s not in the House of Commons.

“To a degree it might seem superficial, but Andy Burnham is of the view that some of the familiar tropes, If you like, of politics – bluntly, a lot of blokes wearing suits standing in front of lecterns – act as a  barrier to people’s willingness to engage and be interested in what political leaders are talking about,” BBC political editor Chris Mason said.

The lectern, or podium that has become such a symbol of British politics during the past 10 years of revolving leaders, was also a victim of the new communication style.

Fortunately for his legion of fans, “hot podium guy” Tobias Gough was still there on Monday, having outlasted five prime ministers with his ever-present black T-shirt.

The sound engineer was there to place the podium for Starmer but it wasn’t clear if he returned later to place the microphones, which don’t require quite the same level of bicep flexing, for Burnham.

‘Kissing hands’ with the King

After weeks as leader-in-waiting, Burnham officially became prime minister during a meeting with the King at Buckingham Palace, where the monarch asked him to form a government.

Buckingham Palace has released a photo of the king and Burnham shaking hands. The ceremony known as “kissing hands” marks the transfer of power.

The palace said in a statement that the king “received in audience the Right Honourable Andrew Burnham MP and requested him to form a new administration”.

“The Right Honourable Andrew Burnham MP accepted the King’s offer and kissed hands upon his appointment as prime minister and first lord of the treasury,” it said.

A flood of world leaders, including Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, congratulated Burnham throughout the day.

“Australia and the United Kingdom are longstanding friends, allies and partners, united by shared values and deep ties between our peoples,” he said.

“I look forward to working with you to strengthen our partnership and promote security, resilience and prosperity in the years ahead.”

Just over an hour before Burnham spoke, Starmer made a short farewell speech outside the prime minister’s residence, saying “my work is done.”

The outgoing leader, forced to resign by his own party, said Britain is now “stronger and fairer than it was two years ago,” when he took office.

“I go with good grace, I go with a smile and I go proud of everything that we have achieved,” Starmer said before heading to Buckingham Palace to offer his resignation to the king. 

It was an offer “His Majesty was graciously pleased to accept”, the palace said in a statement.

Critics and supporters alike will soon be clamouring for details of how Burnham plans to fulfil his pledges.

“Fundamentally, it only will work if you can generate significant economic growth, because it’s the lack of growth that’s really holding the country back,” said Joshi Herrmann, who has followed Burnham’s career as founder of Manchester news site The Mill.

Attention will quickly turn to who Burnham will appoint to his cabinet. He’s expected to make changes to Starmer’s top team, especially to the biggest jobs of Treasury chief, foreign secretary and home secretary.

In his first speech as Labour leader, Burnham praised Starmer’s achievements, saying he would “build on the foundation laid” by his predecessor.

Starmer became Labour leader in 2020 after one of the party’s worst election defeats, and led it to a landslide victory four years later. But he was soon defeated by the challenges of governing.

- Reported with Associated Press