Andy Burnham is, officially, the U.K.’s seventh Prime Minister in 10 years.
The 56-year-old has been named Britain’s new political leader and begins his stint in office from Monday, after being named leader of the Labour Party and meeting with the King, who invited Burnham to form a government. It is unclear if culture secretary Lisa Nandy, currently responsible for shaping industry policy around British film and TV and securing funding for the BFI, will remain in her post in Burnham’s cabinet. A reshuffle is imminent, but the two are long-time friends and allies in British politics.
Britons knew Burnham would be PM weeks before this announcement. His predecessor, Keir Starmer, was pushed into resigning by his own party following months of speculation that he was deeply unpopular among Labour ministers. Starmer’s critics said he tried too hard to pander to Conservative and Reform voters on issues such as Gaza, transgender rights, as well as immigration and measures to tackle soaring inequality.
Ultimately, Starmer simply wasn’t deemed a particularly strong leader for Britain. Enter Burnham, whose supporters believe he can bring the fight to Nigel Farage’s far-right Reform U.K. at the next general election, while maybe even winning over some Green Party voters while he’s at it.
