Removal vans pulled up outside No 10 on Friday as Keir Starmer’s family moved out – the clearest sign yet that Andy Burnham, crowned Labour leader hours earlier, will enter Downing Street on Monday as the UK’s seventh prime minister in ten years.
Burnham was confirmed as Labour leader at a special conference in London after securing the backing of 379 Labour MPs and the overwhelming support of trade unions and party branches. No other candidate stood, handing him the job without a contest.
“Removal vans arrive at No10 as Andy Burnham becomes Labour leader, set to be PM on Monday.”
In his first speech as leader, Burnham told party members: “We are united and we put the power that comes from that unity at the service of people and places who have been waiting too long for politics to let them hope again. That’s what we’re going to do, everybody. We’re going to give them hope back.”
He later said he had “a plan” for the country, promising a government that is “distinctively Labour” and a “new path” that breaks from the last 40 years of economic policy. “The Government I lead will confidently lay that path out, starting next week,” he declared.
The 55-year-old former Greater Manchester mayor returned to Parliament only last month after winning a by-election, a victory that convinced many Labour MPs he was the right person to replace Starmer. Starmer had led Labour to a landslide general election victory in 2024, but public support crumbled amid policy U-turns, and Reform UK swept the local elections in May, triggering Starmer’s departure.
On Monday morning, Starmer will travel to Buckingham Palace to offer his resignation to King Charles. The King will then meet Burnham and ask him to form a government. After accepting, Burnham will head to Downing Street, where he is expected to give a speech outside No 10 and name his cabinet in the afternoon. Shabana Mahmood is widely tipped to replace Rachel Reeves as chancellor.
Burnham has begun setting out his priorities: handing more power to councils and regions, creating a “No 10 in the North” outpost in Manchester, and sticking to Labour’s 2024 manifesto pledges not to raise income tax, VAT or national insurance. But he has hinted at “movement on tax”, signalling a potential “Amazon tax” on giant warehouses and declining to rule out a wealth tax.
On his final full day as Labour leader, Starmer appointed London mayor Sadiq Khan to the House of Lords, a move that could allow Burnham to give Khan a government role. Khan said he would continue to focus on being mayor.
Burnham, who met his wife Marie-France van Heel at university, now faces an in-tray described as “from hell” – sluggish growth, a small boats crisis, and conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. He has ruled out calling an early general election.
