LONDON (AP) — Andy Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester and new leader of the Labour Party, is taking the final steps on Monday to succeed Keir Starmer and become Britain's seventh prime minister in a decade.
The affable Burnham returned to Parliament in June by winning a risky special election and was sworn in as a member on July 12, hours after the unpopular Starmer announced his resignation to end a tenure of just two years in office.
Starmer will travel the mile from Downing Street to Buckingham Palace to formally tell King Charles III that he is resigning.
Soon after, the 56-year-old Burnham will go to the palace and Charles will ask him to form a government. That is when he will officially become prime minister, a moment known as “kissing hands.”
Here is the latest:
It’s a day of action at Downing Street, the British prime minister’s official residence.
Departing leader Keir Starmer will give a short farewell speech before going to Buckingham Palace to tender his resignation to King Charles III. The king will then invite new Labour Party leader Andy Burnham to the palace and ask him to form a government.
Burnham will then address the nation for the first time as prime minister in front of the famous black door of 10 Downing St.
Labour is hoping Burnham’s arrival will signal an end to the rapid turnover of U.K. leaders. He will be the country’s seventh prime minister since 2016.
