King Charles appoints Andy Burnham as head of the new British government

Burnham, 56, who until last June served as mayor of Greater Manchester in northern England, replaces outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who arrived at Downing Street in July 2024 following a landslide victory for the Labour Party in the general election that ended 14 years of Conservative rule.

Burnham became Labour leader on Friday after securing the support of approximately 95 percent of his party’s MPs, automatically qualifying him to form a government given Labour’s majority in Parliament.

Starmer announced his resignation as prime minister on June 22 following a decline in his popularity and growing opposition within the Labour ranks due to a series of controversial decisions and the party’s defeats in some local elections.