by Mikhail Kolovangin
[REGNUM] The UK is once again replacing its head of government without a general election. This procedure has become commonplace in the country over the past decade.
Andy Burnham became leader of the Labour Party on 17 July 2026, and officially entered 10 Downing Street on 20 July, becoming the seventh Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in ten years.
The event ends months of internal Labour party crisis, which began after the party's disastrous May 2026 local elections and intensified against the backdrop of the growing popularity of Nigel Farage's right-wing Reform Party.
TO APPEASE THE TIRED
Burnham's first speech as prime minister was short, but demonstrably measured in tone and signalling.
Instead of a classic victory speech, he opted for a mixture of acknowledgement of responsibility and cautious idealism, clearly trying to speak to an audience tired of big promises.
The politician outlined three key timelines. First, ending street vagrancy and eliminating the situation where people are forced to sleep on the streets.
Secondly, he promises to begin announcing measures to combat rising living costs as early as tomorrow. Thirdly, in the long term, he must present a ten-year plan for Britain to demonstrate the country's leadership has a vision for development through the mid-2030s.
A separate section of the speech is devoted to the redistribution of power within the state. Burnham intends to "pull power out of Whitehall"—that is, to ensure that decisions are not concentrated solely in central government departments, but rather reach the regions and municipalities.
Finally, Burnham outlined a broad socio-economic package that should form the basis for future policy: helping young people find work, expanding mental health support, building large-scale council housing, cutting benefits while respecting budget rules, and delivering on defence spending promises.
This list demonstrates his attempt to balance between the welfare state and fiscal discipline: on the one hand, a more active role for the state in addressing housing, employment, and health issues, on the other, a commitment not to break financial limits or reduce Britain's defense commitments to its allies.
WHO IS ANDY BURNHAM?
The politician was born in 1970 in Liverpool. He studied English literature at Cambridge, began his career in journalism, and entered politics in the early 2000s. He first became an MP in 2001 and held ministerial posts in Gordon Brown's government.
He unsuccessfully ran for the leadership of the Labour Party twice, in 2010 and 2015, before leaving Westminster in 2017 and being elected Mayor of Greater Manchester, a post he held until recently.
It was his position as mayor of Manchester that made Burnham a national figure, championing reform of the region's transport system and positioning himself as the leading voice of the north of England against London-centric policies.
Since party rules stipulate that only a sitting MP can run for leadership, Burnham had to wait for a seat to become available in a friendly constituency – something Makerfield MP Josh Symons did by resigning to run for the by-election.
Burnham won the vote on June 18, 2026, decisively, taking nearly 55% of the vote to Reform Party candidate Robert Kenyon's 35%. This victory was seen as a decisive signal: Labour MPs saw Burnham as the only politician capable of halting Farage's advance.
RACE FOR LEADERSHIP
Burnham's main potential competitor was considered to be former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who left Starmer's cabinet with a sharp statement back in May.
The politician maintained a long-standing intrigue, collecting signatures from deputies for his own nomination, and, according to those close to him, he actually had the necessary support of 81 deputies to launch a formal race.
However, on June 22, the day Starmer's resignation was announced, Streeting unexpectedly withdrew his nomination and publicly endorsed Burnham, effectively ensuring his "coronation" without any real competition.
In his statement, Streeting wrote that the victory in Makerfield was "a victory for unity and hope over division and hatred" and that he was convinced Burnham could build a truly great party.
The decision dramatically changed the landscape: by the time nominations closed, Burnham already had the support of more than 200 of the 403 Labour MPs – more than half the parliamentary group – and none of his rivals had managed to gather the necessary 81 signatures to launch a contest.
As a result, on July 17, Burnham became the party leader without any real election, which caused discontent among some rank-and-file members who criticized the lack of internal party democracy.
It is significant that the "defector" from Starmer's inner circle in this case turned out to be not an ordinary associate, but one of the main "pretenders to the throne," who, back in February 2026, publicly swore allegiance to the current prime minister, calling his leadership a model of integrity.
By May, his supporters had begun to form a parallel campaign, and by June he had fully defected to Burnham's camp.
IMMEDIATE CIRCLE
Burnham is renowned for his close circle of trusted people, with whom he worked during his time as mayor of Manchester.
A key figure in his team was James Purnell, a former minister in Brown's government and a long-time associate of Burnham, who was appointed chief of staff at Downing Street.
Along with Purnell, the inner circle of people privy to the details of the cabinet formation included Louise Hay, the former transport minister who resigned due to a history of fraud, but remains one of Burnham's closest allies.
Burnham kept the composition of his cabinet within a very narrow circle - in fact, only Hay and Purnell were aware of it, which underlines the closed, almost family-like nature of his team.
Other Manchester associates who could be appointed include Miatta Fahnbulleh and Anneliese Midgley, both of whom have long had personal ties to Burnham.
Graham Cook has also been named as the new head of Downing Street's political bloc, which is seen as a signal that the Prime Minister intends to exert strict control over the formation of policy himself, rather than handing over this function to ministers.
BATTLE FOR THE POST OF CHANCELLOR
The most tense and revealing battle for the balance of power in the new cabinet was the dispute over the post of Chancellor of the Exchequer—the second-highest position in the government. For several weeks, a veritable briefing war raged between supporters of the current Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
Miliband's supporters argued that he was the only candidate capable of challenging "Treasury orthodoxy" while sharing the prime minister's views on economic reform.
However, big business and some trade unions expressed concern about his possible appointment, fearing market destabilization.
The pound strengthened, and 10-year government bond yields fell by 0.06 percentage points after reports that Mahmood had emerged as the front-runner. Burnham's close ally, Louise Hay, also expressed doubts about Miliband's candidacy.
By mid-July, most insiders agreed that Mahmood would become chancellor and Miliband would be transferred to the Foreign Office, possibly with the additional status of first secretary of state, which is effectively equivalent to the position of deputy prime minister.
Streeting is seen in this scenario as a likely successor to Mahmood as interior minister – despite his reputation as a right-wing politician, he is seen as softer on immigration issues than Mahmood.
THE NEW PRIME MINISTER'S PLAN
Burnham takes office with a fairly clear left-of-center agenda: more public control over basic services, a focus on the cost of living, and a major turnaround in housing policy.
In the energy and utilities sectors, he intends to strengthen the state's role in managing key areas—from water to electricity. The country's largest water company, Thames Water, is effectively preparing for a special administration regime until a new owner is found. Meanwhile, measures are being discussed that could reduce energy bills by approximately £130 per year and make operating a heat pump cheaper than a gas boiler by redistributing tax and policy surcharges in tariffs.
At the same time, Burnham is prepared to confront the climate wing when it comes to fossil fuel production. His team is exploring workarounds in the North Sea—connecting new wells to existing facilities without formally violating the previous promise not to issue new exploration licenses.
At the same time, he supports a tougher immigration agenda, leaving in place Mahmood's initiatives to reform the system and reiterating that overall migration must decline, even if this causes divisions within Labour.
His vision of the digital state is also changing. Burnham is ready to bury Starmer's BritCard digital IDs for the sake of a "reset of priorities," redirecting resources from the big project to helping people suffering from rising prices.
At the same time, he plans to radically restructure the technology management architecture: instead of a separate department of science, innovation, and technology, he will create a strengthened department, within which, for the first time, a separate minister for artificial intelligence will be appointed.
In this way, he's attempting to combine the image of a pro-business leader with control over basic infrastructure and stricter social and immigration regulations. Moreover, the abolition of digital ID cards is an attempt to capitalize on the electorate's discontent with the highly toxic topic of increased digital control. Of course, this doesn't mean the initiative won't be implemented later.
In terms of housing policy, he promises the largest municipal housing construction program since the postwar era. For him, this is not only a matter of social justice but also an attempt to stop the budget-destroying transfer of enormous sums from state housing support to private landlords.
LAST CHANCE
Burnham's speech today followed Starmer's farewell speech.
The former prime minister sought to emphasize that his departure was a "responsible step" at a time when the country needed a new impetus and a new face. The speech echoed familiar themes: service to the country, gratitude to the team, and confidence that the Labour Party, with its new leadership, could still deliver on its promises to voters.
At the same time, Starmer's main "historical achievement" has become more of a subject of irony: under him, Westminster has become the most homosexual* parliament in the world (something he recently declared with sincere pride ), and in terms of the number of scandals, internal intrigues and other showdowns, it more closely resembles a theater.
And the change of prime minister looks more like an attempt to simply reset the atmosphere within the country than a real change of course.
Burnham comes in with rhetoric about "massive change," but his key domestic policy moves are mostly about unpacking long-overdue decisions under a new brand.
A little more public oversight over infrastructure, the symbolic abolition of digital IDs, promises to build a record amount of municipal housing and reform the technology sector—all of this is intended to demonstrate concern for the population, alleviate voter irritation, and create the feeling that the state is returning to the basic needs of ordinary people.
Against this backdrop, Burnham's rise to power looks like Labour's last serious chance to seize the initiative and salvage its ratings before the next parliamentary elections.
If promises to "reset priorities" remain just a collection of beautiful phrases without tangible results on the cost of living, voters will very quickly perceive the change of prime minister as a purely cosmetic reshuffle at the top.
In such a case, the party risks entering the campaign not simply out of fatigue with the government, but with a general feeling that the Labour project has been exhausted.
Jewish former Labour leader Ed Miliband tapped as new British foreign secretary
“See? We in Labour are not Jew-haters! We just hate Zionists, and religious Jews, and Jews who aren’t socialists, and…”
[IsraelTimes] New UK PM Burnham shakes up cabinet, purging Starmer loyalists, signaling tack to left; Miliband led party from 2010 to 2015, when he lost election; criticized Israel’s Gaza policy‘A matter of life and death’: UK monitor urges new PM to prioritize tackling antisemitism
[IsraelTimes Campaign Against Antisemitism implores Burnham to find solutions beyond upping protective measures for British Jews but doesn’t include concrete proposals, calls his comments on Israel ‘disheartening’
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