BREAKING: King Charles appoints Andy Burnham as Britain’s new prime minister

Andy Burnham has officially assumed office as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after being invited by King Charles III to form a new government following the resignation of Sir Keir Starmer.

Buckingham Palace announced on Monday that the King received Burnham in audience and requested him to establish a new administration. Burnham accepted the invitation and was formally appointed Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury.

His appointment came shortly after Starmer submitted his resignation to the monarch, ending a two-year tenure marked by political and economic challenges.

Burnham becomes Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade, underscoring the country’s prolonged period of political instability. The former Mayor of Greater Manchester recently returned to Parliament before emerging unopposed as leader of the Labour Party with the backing of its MPs.

In his farewell remarks outside Downing Street, Starmer said his “work is done” and pledged his full support to Burnham as the new head of government.

Burnham is expected to begin appointing members of his Cabinet immediately before delivering his first address as Prime Minister from 10 Downing Street.

The new prime minister has pledged to implement a 10-year programme aimed at addressing the country’s long-term structural challenges, restoring political stability and easing the cost-of-living pressures facing British households.