Andy Burnham is already serving as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The former mayor of Manchester, who was received this Monday morning by Charles III at Buckingham Palace, gave a speech at the gates of his new residence, 10 Downing Street, in which he pledged to restore stability to the United Kingdom and admitted the lack of quality of the current political generation in the UK.
Read more The director of the US agency for AI security resigns
Burnham announced immediate actions to reduce the rising cost of living in the UK. The new premier said that as early as this Tuesday, immediate measures would be approved in this regard, as part of a plan that will be completed “later this year” with reforms for the next decade. A plan that, he assured, will build “a new economy” and “reindustrialize” the United Kingdom.
Burnham also expressed a collective mea culpa, saying he understood that the British are “fed up” with politics. Politicians “have not been up to the mark,” he admitted.
In a speech delivered without notes and without a lectern, as he was accustomed to doing in Manchester, the new premier emphasized the importance of helping “young people enter the labor market by reforming the education system and offering them more support, including greater mental health support.” In his plan for a new economy — which, he said, includes building more social housing — he defended these principles as “the fair and sustainable way to reduce social welfare spending, meet our fiscal rules, and honor our defense commitments with our international partners.”
Burnham identified a first priority: housing. “Soon I will cross that door behind me — he announced from the forecourt in front of the prime minister’s residence — and give my first instruction: to end homelessness in our country.”
The new Prime Minister, who visited a shelter for homeless citizens on Monday morning, emphasized in his first speech in office his intention to put “people’s well-being at the center of everything I do.” “I ask you all — he added — to row in the same direction. Let’s build a new sense of national unity, shared purpose, and optimism.” Burnham added a call for national self-esteem, so that his mandate will be “the moment when the United Kingdom believes in itself again, the moment when we regain hope.”
Read more U.S. and Iran head towards total war after the ninth consecutive night of bombings
Burnham and his wife, Marie-France van Heel — who also accompanied him to Buckingham — arrived at Downing Street to applause and surrounded by friends and family.
Economy Minister Rachel Reeves announced her resignation and boasts about her management in the Government
Starmer’s departure from the British government will inevitably lead to changes in the cabinet. Anticipating them, Economy Minister Rachel Reeves, the first woman to hold the position, announced her resignation on Twitter. “I wish my successor and their government the best of luck. You have all my support and I will continue to play my role to help this Labour government make the change the country needs a reality,” she said.
Reeves stated that “the economy is today stronger, fairer, and more resilient thanks to the decisions we have made as a Labour government over the past two years. We have restored stability, boosted investment, and launched the reform of our economy.” Hours before her resignation, premier Burnham had indicated that among his immediate goals was “to do something to give people a break now” in the face of rising living costs.
Additionally, David Lammy (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice), Peter Kyle (Minister of Business and Trade), and Steve Reed (Minister of Housing, Communities and Local Government) will also not continue in the British government. Apparently on their own initiative, but various British media suggest their departure is a consequence of the ministerial reshuffle undertaken by Burnham. The Standard, The Independent, and The Times describe the operation as a reshuffle in which Burnham sidelined or dismissed several key ministers from Keir Starmer’s team.
Read more Housing Secretary of State, David Lucas, dies at 58 years old
