Andy Burnham Replaces Keir Starmer to Become 7th UK PM in 10 Years, Meets King Charles III

Andy Burnham has officially become Britain’s prime minister after succeeding Keir Starmer, who resigned after two years in office.

Andy Burnham has become the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the seventh British PM in a decade. The development comes after Keir Starmer formally resigned on Monday after meeting King Charles III at Buckingham Palace. Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester and new leader of the Labour Party, is officially the 59th prime minister of the UK.

The affable Burnham returned to Parliament in June by winning a risky special election and was sworn in as a member on July 12, hours after the unpopular Starmer announced his resignation to end a tenure of just two years in office.

Starmer traveled the mile from Downing Street to Buckingham Palace on Monday to formally tell King Charles III that he was resigning and Charles accepted, Buckingham Palace said.

The 56-year-old Burnham then arrived at the palace and accepted the invitation by Charles to form a government in a moment known as “kissing hands.”

Burnham Wasn’t Even in Parliament a Month Ago

In order to challenge Starmer for the Labour Party’s leadership position, Burnham had to take a big political gamble.

He first had to win a seat in Parliament and then amass the necessary support to launch a bid to topple Starmer.

As internal pressure mounted in May for Starmer to resign, Josh Simons, the Labour lawmaker for the seat of Makerfield near Manchester, stepped down, triggering a special election. It was no shoe-in.

The anti-immigration Reform UK party had recently devastated Labour in local elections in the area, which had led to calls for Starmer’s resignation.

The bet paid off for Burnham, who is well-known and popular in the area, and he breezed to victory when the votes were tallied June 19. Dozens of Labour lawmakers cheered as he was sworn in June 22.

Starmer ultimately stepped down and Burnham faced no opposition in running to become party leader.

Dark T-shirts and dark jeans are typically part of the work uniform for Burnham, who is seen as a more relaxed and natural communicator compared to the buttoned-up Starmer.

But he changed out of his usual casual wear on Monday, donning a dark suit, white dress shirt and blue tie as he met King Charles III at Buckingham Palace to get the formal go-ahead to become prime minister.

Post meeting with King Charles III, Andy Burnham formally accepted an invitation from King Charles III to form a government.

Buckingham Palace has released a photo of the two men shaking hands. The ceremony known as “kissing hands” marks the transfer of power from former leader Keir Starmer to Burnham.

Burnham replaced Starmer as leader of the center-left governing Labour Party last week.

Burnham replaced Starmer as leader of the center-left governing Labour Party last week.

Why Starmer Resigned Without A General Election

Burnham was chosen as Labour Party leader by 379 fellow lawmakers after Starmer said he was resigning. Because Labour holds a majority in government, its leader also becomes the U.K. prime minister.

Under Britain’s parliamentary democracy system, governing parties can change leaders midterm, with the winner becoming prime minister without the need for a general election.

Prime ministers can be replaced if one has resigned as leader of their party, or been forced out by a leadership challenge.

It’s not unusual for British prime ministers to come to power without a broad election. In fact, four of the six British prime ministers in the past decade took the top job by winning internal party leadership contests to replace their predecessors, not by public vote.

With inputs from AP