Britain was set to get its seventh prime minister in 10 years Monday when the king invites Andy Burnham (L) to form a new government, only four weeks after the former Mayor of Manchester was elected to parliament in a by-election. Photo courtesy of House of Commons/EPA
July 20 (UPI) -- Andy Burnham was set to become British Prime Minister on Monday after a private audience with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace at which he will ask the former Manchester Mayor to form a government.
Burnham is expected to head to the palace late morning after outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer gives a farewell speech outside No. 10 Downing Street at around 11.15 a.m. local time and departs to make the 1 mile journey to meet with the King to officially tender his resignation.
Burnham will be the country's seventh prime minister in 10 years and brings to five the number among those leaders installed in Downing Street by their respective parties and without initially winning a mandate from the electorate.
He takes over just two years after Starmer led the party to a landslide general election victory that returned Labour to power after 14 years in opposition.
