Andy Burnham will set out his first measures as Britain’s new Prime Minister on Tuesday in an attempt to deliver on his promises to ease a cost of living crisis, improve lives and end a decade of political instability.
After appointing a top ministerial team which he hopes will be more agile than that of his predecessor Keir Starmer, Burnham wants to move quickly to show Britain politics can work and improve living standards after years of stagnation.
Alongside meeting his Cabinet of Ministers, he will also kick off a programme he believes can turn Britain around, hoping a bolder agenda can win back voters to the governing Labour Party and fight a challenge from the populist Reform United Kingdom.
“I can do something to give people some breathing space now, some help with the cost of living,” he said in a speech after becoming Britain’s seventh Prime Minister in a decade on Monday.
“And I will set out some of those measures starting tomorrow, including how we pay for them.” There is a lot at stake.
Dubbed the ‘King of the North’ for his dogged defence of the northwestern English area of Greater Manchester when Mayor, Burnham is the most popular leader of Britain’s main political parties and has overwhelming support in Labour.
But Britain’s revolving door of leaders over the past decade has underlined how quickly parties can move against leaders who are not seen as delivering for voters, and Burnham will have to move quickly to stamp his authority on the government.
He wants to hit the ground running.
–Reuters–
