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Andy Burnham Becomes New UK PM 07/20 06:38
LONDON (AP) -- The moment for Andy Burnham has finally come.
After weeks as leader-in-waiting, Burnham officially became prime minister
on Monday during a meeting with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace.
He succeeded Keir Starmer, on a day when Britain's political turbulence gave
way, at least temporarily, to smooth choreography.
Buckingham Palace has released a photo of the two men 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 Rt.
Hon. Andrew Burnham MP and requested him to form a new Administration. The Rt.
Hon Andrew Burnham MP accepted The King's offer and kissed hands upon his
appointment as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury."
Burnham is the seventh U.K. prime minister since 2016 in a now
well-rehearsed handover after replacing Starmer as leader of the center-left
governing Labour Party on Friday.
Starmer made a short farewell speech outside the prime minister's 10 Downing
Street 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.
The king will ask Burnham to take charge
Burnham then went to the palace in his turn and Charles will ask him to form
a government. That's when he officially becomes prime minister, a moment known
as "kissing hands."
The king's role harkens back to a time when the monarch exercised supreme
power and chose a prime minister to run the government. Today, the king has no
political power, but the monarch still officially offers the job to the leader
of the party that can command a majority in the House of Commons. No
hand-kissing is involved.
Britain's parliamentary democracy allows governing parties to change
leaders, and thus prime ministers, without the need for a general election. The
next national poll doesn't have to be held until 2029, though Burnham can call
one sooner if he wants.
From the palace, Burnham will go to Downing Street, where he will make his
first speech as prime minister.
A spokesperson said Burnham will say that he's "acutely aware" of how many
changes of leader the country has been through in the past decade, and will
pledge to restore stability.
Starmer said much the same when he took office two years ago. Last month he
announced he would resign after missteps and judgment errors that eroded his
standing with his party and the public.
Burnham was the only candidate in a contest to become the party's new
leader, securing nominations from 379 of the 403 Labour lawmakers in the House
of Commons.
The new leader pledges a new style of politics
The former mayor of Greater Manchester has pledged to make politics "less
toxic," improve living standards across the country and "bring back the hope we
have all been missing."
"I will work to build a new politics," he said after becoming Labour leader
on Friday. "The country is crying out for it."
Critics and supporters alike will soon be clamoring for details of how
Burnham plans to fulfill 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.
At his final Prime Minister's Questions session in Parliament on Wednesday,
Starmer defended his government's record on the international stage --
especially its support for Ukraine -- and its domestic policy achievements. He
mentioned stronger protections for working people, a reduction in child
poverty, a law designed to stop official cover-ups after tragedies, and higher
defense spending.
"In six and a half years, I took our party from a historic defeat in 2019,
changed it so it was fit to face the country and won a landslide general
election victory in 2024," Starmer said in his final remarks before leaving
Downing St, hand-in-hand with his wife Victoria.
"Since then, it has been the privilege of my life to serve you and this
great country as prime minister. I am confident that Britain is now stronger
and fairer than it was two years ago."
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