Andy Burnham is taking over the leadership of the Labor Party, in power in London since 2024, to succeed Keir Starmer, who resigned as Prime Minister last June. Here are four things to know about the socialist politician who will become the UK’s seventh prime minister in 10 years on Monday.
• Also read: Resignation of Keir Starmer: here are 5 key issues that led to his downfall
Originally from Liverpool
Andrew Burnham was born in 1970 in Liverpool — where the Beatles also originated — in the north of England.
He studied at the prestigious Cambridge University where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in English.
He is a supporter of the Everton football team, Liverpool and the Leigh Leopards rugby club of Greater Manchester. He was also president of the British Rugby League from 2018 to 2019.
A first stint in the House of Commons
Burnham was first elected to the House of Commons in 2001 for the Labor Party in the constituency of Leigh, Greater Manchester, not far from his native Liverpool.
He held various government cabinet positions, including Chief Secretary to the Treasury (2007-2008), Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (2008-2009) and then Secretary of State for Health (2009-2010).
He tried twice, unsuccessfully, to be elected party leader.
Elected first mayor of Greater Manchester
After spending 15 years in the House of Commons, he became the first elected mayor of Greater Manchester in 2017, an area with 3 million residents. He was re-elected twice in 2021 and 2024.
Between 2017 and 2020, it notably halved homelessness in Manchester. However, the number of people experiencing homelessness is now breaking records due to the housing crisis hitting the country,
His greatest pride is having deprivatized the public transport network called Bee Network, now under public control for the first time since 1980. He also capped fares and rationalized the network until then considered “chaotic”, according to the British media The Guardian.
Flowers left outside Manchester Arena the day after the suicide bombing during an Ariana Grande concert in 2017.
WENN.com
On May 22, 2017, two weeks after his election, the Manchester Arena was the scene of a suicide bombing which left 22 people dead and hundreds injured, mostly children.
His policies took a turn during the COVID-19 pandemic. A speech he gave against the containment rules of Boris Johnson’s government, deemed too focused on London, earned him the nickname “King of the North”.
Objective: replace Keir Starmer
He left the mayoralty on 19 June 2026 in a by-election in the Makerfield constituency, which he won with the stated aim of replacing Keir Starmer as leader of the Labor Party. He won his bet without opposition a month later.
After several missteps and U-turns by Starmer, Labor is second in the polls behind the anti-immigration right-wing Reform UK party ahead of the 2029 election.
Andy Burnham on the eve of his election in Makerfield for the leadership of the Labor Party, June 18, 2026.
AFP
As Prime Minister, Andy Burnham pledged to support struggling communities. He wants to give the regions more power, particularly in terms of housing and transport.
He also said he wanted to apply the Bee Network’s public control model to essential services like water and energy. However, he did not specify how he would achieve this in practice.
He also said he wanted to examine the imposition of a tax on the wealth of the wealthiest.
He is described as a “pro-business socialist.”
— With information from the Guardian, AFP and BBC
