The UK has a new prime minister: Andy Burnham has taken office, presenting his government as a “circuit breaker for Britain” and promising major political and economic reform.
Burnham is setting a more interventionist, left-leaning direction, focused on devolution, stronger public oversight of essential services, council housing, industrial policy and support for communities left behind.
Immediate delivery will be critical: Early priorities include action on the cost-of-living crisis and unsheltered homelessness, with measures to reducing household energy and travel costs, and publishing a longer-term 10-year plan.
His political opportunity comes with significant risks: Burnham must maintain Labour unity, rebuild support among traditional and progressive voters, reassure business and markets, and show tangible results before seeking his own electoral mandate.
What did Burnham say?
In his first speech on the steps of Downing Street since accepting the King’s invitation to form a government, observers would be forgiven for thinking that Andy Burnham had actually run for the leadership under Keir Starmer’s 2024 Labour mantra of “Change.”
Forgoing the traditional Downing Street lectern in a deliberate visual signal that he intended to do things differently, Burnham spoke fluently and confidently without notes. He presented his premiership as a “circuit breaker for Britain,” promising the biggest political and economic reforms in more than 40 years.
He argued Britain had become too centralized and too reliant on privatization, leaving many communities behind, and said his government would reverse this through a significant program of devolution, stronger public control of essential services, and an active industrial strategy to support British manufacturing through public procurement.
Burnham committed to publishing a 10-year plan for Britain later this year while prioritizing immediate action to ease the cost-of-living crisis from tomorrow. He also alluded to plans to reform education, expand mental health support, help more young people into work, and build more council homes, presenting these measures as a way of reducing welfare spending while remaining within his fiscal rules and maintaining defense commitments.
A recurring theme throughout the speech was the creation of a more preventative state, with government intervening earlier to improve people’s life chances rather than responding once problems had become entrenched. His first policy commitment as prime minister was to begin work on ending rough sleeping—a brave commitment, given unsheltered homelessness has increased over the past four years in Greater Manchester and a stark reminder for the new prime minister of the increased scrutiny he will now face in his current role.
Burnham closed with a call for a more collaborative style of politics and a renewed sense of national unity, seeking to position his government as one focused on public service, long-term reform, and restoring public confidence in politics.
What can we learn from this speech?
What is immediately clear is that Burnham intends to lead a government that will lean unashamedly to the left. This would seem to be borne out by the figures who have been sacked from the Cabinet, primarily seen to be figures from the right of the party. A commitment to build more council homes as the “fairest and most sustainable way to bring the welfare bill down” would not have been out of place in a speech given by Green Party leader Zack Polanski. Rejecting economic laissez-faire orthodoxy, Burnham spoke candidly about what he sees as the mistakes of privatization: the need for reindustrialization to reconnect with communities that have been left behind and the need for more public ownership.
If, as the old saying goes, you “campaign in poetry and govern in prose,” Burnham is clearly determined to challenge that theory by doing at the outset what Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves were unable to do: speak the language of hope and change with a purpose. Two of his biggest electoral threats, Polanski on the left and Reform UK’s Nigel Farage on the right, have gained electoral success by channeling those messages. Burnham will not allow himself to be found wanting on that score.
Politically, his words were carefully calibrated to appeal not only to disaffected traditional Labour voters who had lost faith in the party under Starmer, but also to a potential “progressive alliance” of Liberal Democrat and Green voters who could be persuaded to vote tactically in order to defeat Reform UK in key seats at the next General Election. Burnham’s strategists will be aware that this approach offers the best route to extending Burnham’s stay in No. 10, having been road-tested in Burnham’s resounding victory in the Makerfield by-election.
What remains to be seen is how this will work in economic practice and the realpolitik of government. He will be mindful that he cannot deliver on the priorities he has set out without a constructive relationship with business and a solid economic footing. Though a commitment to remain within fiscal rules was again alluded to, what was strikingly missing from the speech was business-friendly messaging about economic growth as the driver for the change the new prime minister will need to deliver at pace.
Burnham will also be acutely aware that he does not have the time to deliver the fundamental changes that he envisages in reforming the way we are governed. His game plan is therefore a relatively simple one: Get some breathing space now by keeping the Parliamentary Labour Party happy, demonstrate change while staying close to the Labour manifesto and putting forward a ten-year plan which will include measures to tackle the cost of living, and show where he plans to lead them; speak the language of the forgotten parts of the country where Labour is vulnerable to Reform UK, whilst keeping hope alive among progressive Green voters.
The big changes Burnham is planning will need major trade-offs, which will be impossible without his own mandate. Be prepared to go long but be ready to pull the trigger early if a window of opportunity presents itself and his political opponents falter, write his own fiscal rules and avoid the 2029 fiscal crunch of Rachel Reeves’ spending reviews.
There is a view that Burnham has been a “lucky General” in inheriting the mantle from Starmer at a time when the economy may be over the worst and Reform UK are showing signs of fallibility. This remains to be seen. What is apparent, however, is that he is determined to learn from the mistakes of his predecessor, capitalize on his unexpected political fortune, and demonstrably be the change that he feels the country wants to see.
Burnham begins appointing his Cabinet
John Healey’s appointment as chancellor of the exchequer comes as a surprise, with much of the speculation ahead of the announcement focused on Ed Miliband or Shabana Mahmood. Instead, the prime minister has opted for a figure likely to be viewed by markets, colleagues, and much of the Labour Party as a safe pair of hands. While not the headline-grabbing choice, Healey’s appointment signals a preference for experience and stability at a time when the Government’s economic credibility will be under intense scrutiny.
Healey is closely aligned with Burnham on the direction of economic policy, particularly around regional growth, the importance of building more council homes, and devolution. As Shadow Housing Secretary, Healey championed a program of "progressive devolution," arguing for greater powers and funding for disadvantaged parts of the country to drive housing delivery and economic renewal. That shared outlook should help minimize the policy tensions that have often characterized the relationship between prime ministers and chancellors.
Healey also brings direct Treasury experience, having served as a treasury minister under Tony Blair, giving him a strong understanding of the department at a time when fiscal credibility will be watched closely. During this time, he was responsible for Regional Development Authorities, which is another demonstration of how his thinking on the role of devolution aligns with Burnham’s.
It will also not go unnoticed that Healey only recently resigned because the Treasury would not, in his words, sufficiently fund the Defence Investment Plan. Now, as chancellor, he will be responsible for finding the funding to deliver those commitments while operating within the Government’s wider fiscal rules.
Another key appointment is Ed Miliband as foreign secretary. Miliband had been thought to be under consideration to be Burnham’s chancellor of the exchequer, having advised Burnham on economic policy ahead of his move to Downing Street. Miliband is expected to be seen as a progressive choice as foreign secretary, particularly important given Burnham’s view that the UK “did not get policy right” on Gaza, and will be trusted by Burnham to be the UK’s lead diplomat whilst he retains a stronger focus on domestic affairs than his predecessor. It is also likely that Miliband will be able to retain some responsibility for tackling global climate change goals through the Foreign Office. However, relations with the Trump White House will be of interest, given the Trump administration’s differing approach to Net Zero policy and Miliband’s efforts to advance the policy. In terms of EU relations, Miliband’s appointment is unlikely to signal a significant change in direction, as his pro-EU instincts are similar to those of the new prime minister.
Moving Miliband to the Foreign Office also deals with a potential headache for Burnham given Miliband’s opposition to further oil and gas licensing in the North Sea, a policy that the new prime minister is known to wish to review.
Shabana Mahmood’s reappointment as home secretary comes despite widespread speculation that she also could have been moved to the Treasury as chancellor. It was well understood in Westminster, however, that Mahmood wanted to remain at the Home Office, believing her work to tackle illegal immigration was unfinished. Her reappointment gives her the opportunity to continue driving that agenda and demonstrate tangible progress on an issue that will remain central to the Government’s credibility. However, her reform agenda is not universally popular within the Parliamentary Labour Party, with some MPs uneasy about her proposals. As those reforms progress, they could become a source of growing tension between the Cabinet and Labour’s backbenches in the months ahead.
Louise Haigh’s appointment as first secretary of state and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster puts a trusted ally at the center of government delivery. As a close political supporter of Burnham, Haigh’s role rewards loyalty and points to a more politically attuned center, with the Cabinet Office focused on driving through Burnham’s domestic priorities.
Looking Ahead
Political authority is often established early, and Burnham’s team will be acutely aware that first impressions can become difficult to reverse. Within the Labour Party there is a widely held view that the previous government never fully recovered from early mistakes.
This is why, in addition to speaking about his forthcoming 10-year plan, Burnham sought to project momentum from the outset by making it clear that announcements on how his government would help ease the cost of living would come as soon as tomorrow. This is an attempt to demonstrate that not only does his government have a coherent plan, but that it is capable of delivering tangible improvements.
That points towards a program of highly visible policy interventions, not just tomorrow, but across the first couple of weeks of his time in office. As well as making it clear that ending unsheltered homelessness would be an immediate priority, Burnham spoke about helping ease the cost of living. This package is expected to include measures aimed at reducing pressure on household energy bills and reducing some travel costs.
Institutional reform is also likely to feature prominently. Burnham is expected to establish “No. 10 North” as an early signal of his intention to reshape how the center of government operates, alongside announcing the next phase of English devolution through additional metro mayors and a further transfer of powers to existing combined authorities. More than a constitutional adjustment, this reflects a different theory of government. Burnham has long argued that economic growth is constrained as much by an over-centralized state as by underinvestment, and that decisions are more effective when taken closer to the communities and economies they affect. Devolution is therefore likely to be positioned not as an end in itself but as a principal economic reform.
A further early priority will be increasing public oversight of essential utilities. While wholesale nationalization appears unlikely, Burnham has consistently argued that sectors such as water and energy require stronger strategic direction where markets are failing to deliver for consumers. This illustrates a broader governing philosophy that is likely to define the administration: a greater willingness for the state to shape markets, set clearer expectations, and intervene where necessary, while remaining pragmatic about the role of private investment and competition. The objective is not to expand the state for its own sake, but to improve outcomes where existing models are seen to have fallen short.
The Milburn Review is also expected to become one of the defining domestic policy programs of the new administration. Burnham has long argued that expanding opportunity, particularly for younger people, is fundamental to both economic renewal and social mobility. Measures to improve skills, increase labor market participation and reduce economic inactivity are therefore likely to form a central pillar of the Government’s domestic agenda.
The significance of the Review extends beyond individual policy announcements. It reflects Burnham’s belief that long-term growth will depend as much on expanding economic participation and opportunity as on fiscal or industrial policy. In that sense, investment in people is likely to sit alongside investment in infrastructure as one of the defining characteristics of his approach to economic renewal.
Taken together, these early priorities suggest that Burnham’s opening months will be less about announcing a series of disconnected policy initiatives than establishing a governing philosophy. The common thread is a more activist, place-based state that seeks to combine economic growth with visible improvements in everyday living standards, while demonstrating that government can once again deliver tangible results.
Burnham begins with significant political capital among Labour MPs, many of whom regard him as the figure best placed to restore the party’s electoral fortunes. Yet that goodwill will remain contingent on delivery. Expectations of the new government will be exceptionally high. His authority within the Parliamentary Labour Party will therefore rest less on the scale of his initial mandate than on his ability to demonstrate tangible progress. Sustained improvements in Labour’s electoral position would reinforce his standing, but failure to produce visible results would quickly erode the broad coalition of support that has carried him into Downing Street.