CANADA VIBES NEWSROOM · MORNING EDITION
Tuesday, July 21, 2026 · 7:00 AM ET

Andy Burnham delivered his first speech as UK prime minister Monday, becoming the seventh person to hold the office in a decade.

King Charles III formally asked Burnham to form a government Monday at Buckingham Palace, which he accepted, according to reporting from CNN, NPR and Al Jazeera. He succeeds Keir Starmer, who resigned as Labour Party leader and prime minister last month following a series of election defeats, policy reversals and scandals.

Burnham, 56, served 16 years as a member of Parliament and held several Cabinet posts in the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Most recently mayor of Greater Manchester, he built a reputation for championing investment and devolution in the post-industrial region — an approach he now pledges to bring to the national stage.

In his inaugural address, Burnham promised to make British politics “work better” and help the country “regain its stability” after a decade marked by rapid turnover at 10 Downing Street. US President Donald Trump reacted to the appointment by calling the UK a “poverty stricken disaster,” according to CNBC.

What to watch

• The makeup of Burnham’s new cabinet and the economic direction he sets out.
• UK-US diplomatic relations following Trump’s remarks.
• How markets and the British pound react to the leadership change.

Sources: CNN, NPR, CNBC, Al Jazeera.