Andy Burnham used his first Downing Street speech as prime minister to promise an end to rough sleeping, vowing that his arrival in power would be a ‘circuit breaker’ moment for the country. Speaking without the lectern employed by his predecessors, Burnham declared he would ‘end rough sleeping in our country’ and outlined measures to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, admitting that ‘we have not been good enough, and we need to be better’.
He was greeted with applause from supporters as he acknowledged being the sixth person in 10 years to walk up Downing Street – the seventh prime minister since 2016 – and said Britain needed to ‘regain our stability once again’. Distant cries of ‘No Rosebank’ from demonstrators and a man playing Beethoven’s Ode to Joy punctuated the address, but did not interrupt the new PM. An EU-flag-waving protester called out once. The audience nodded in agreement as Burnham committed to ending rough sleeping.
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Hours earlier, Burnham had named his first cabinet, rewarding loyalists and delivering a ‘brutal clearout’ of Keir Starmer allies. The surprise appointment was John Healey, 66, the former defence secretary who resigned under Starmer over defence funding, becoming chancellor of the exchequer. Healey, a steady force who has been an MP since 1997 and served as a Treasury minister under Tony Blair, is expected to push for a fuller funding settlement for the Ministry of Defence and shared interests with Burnham in reindustrialisation. Shabana Mahmood kept her role as home secretary after being appointed by Starmer last year and charged with driving through controversial immigration policies. She is considered to be on the Blue Labour right of the party, which is socially conservative and tough on crime.
Burnham concluded his maiden speech by asking people to ‘pull with me’ to ‘build a new national sense of unity, of common purpose and positivity’. The question now is whether his generation of politicians can indeed raise their game – and whether the promised stability can outlast the turnover that has defined British politics for a decade.