Andy Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester and the new leader of the Labor Party, takes 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 after winning a high-stakes special election, and was sworn in as an MP on July 12, hours after the unpopular Starmer announced his resignation, ending just two years in office.
Starmer will travel the mile from Downing Street to Buckingham Palace to formally tell King Charles III of his resignation.
Soon after, 56-year-old Burnham would go to the palace and Charles would ask him to form a government. That’s when he officially becomes Prime Minister, a moment known as “kissing hands.”
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Keir Starmer’s work has been completed as he leaves Downing Street
“My job is done,” Keir Starmer said as he prepared to leave Downing Street for the final time to resign as Prime Minister.
The outgoing leader, who was forced to resign by his party, said Britain was now stronger and fairer than it was two years ago.
Starmer spoke outside 10 Downing Street before heading to Buckingham Palace to submit his resignation to King Charles III.
Andy Burnham will deliver a speech at the same venue after he is formally appointed Prime Minister by the King.
The press pack gathers outside the famous black door
Dozens of reporters and photographers from international media crowded the street outside No. 10 Downing Street.
They gathered about half an hour before Keir Starmer left his official residence to see King Charles III and formally resign as Prime Minister.
Police placed additional metal barriers outside the famous black door to prevent people from standing directly in front of it.
The lion and the unicorn in front of No. 10
You know this is the business of government – not just politics – when the platform in front of 10 Downing Street features a strange logo with a lion and a unicorn on it.
The stage was set up ahead of Keir Starmer’s final speech as Prime Minister.
The two creatures share having been part of the royal coat of arms since the 17th century.
The lion, although never living in the wild of England, is its national animal. The unicorn, although fictional, is the official animal of Scotland.
The two became part of the coat of arms when the two crowns were united in 1603, when King James I ascended to the throne in England. He was actually King James VI of Scotland.
The unwelcome soundtrack may not overwhelm the new leader
Protesters have taken to blasting music mocking prime ministers outside 10 Downing Street.
Starmer did not escape abuse, nor did his predecessor.
But Burnham can avoid the unwanted soundtrack after the Metropolitan Police banned the use of loudspeakers by anyone gathering outside the gates of Downing Street between 10.30am and 1.30pm.
Starmer began his resignation speech last month as the EU’s anthem, Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” echoed off the walls behind him.
Rishi Sunak, the last Conservative prime minister, was almost overwhelmed by the size when he called the election for July 4, 2024, which will see Starmer and Labor oust him from office.
It was clear when Sunak stood in the rain to D:Ream’s ‘Things Can Only Get Better’, a rival Labor campaign song from the Tony Blair era.
The next day’s headlines showed a wet snack and said: “Things can only get wetter.”
Prepare to kiss hands
The political ritual at Buckingham Palace to change British prime ministers has specific steps.
In this case, outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer goes to the palace to submit his resignation to the king.
The incoming Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, will then head out later in the day, for a special ceremony known as a “kissing hands”, although no hands are actually kissed.
Instead, the king will ask Burnham to form a new government. Burnham will bow, shake Charles’ hand, and assume his new role. A photo will be taken to record the moment of energy transfer.
“The proof, if proof was needed, is the photo and film footage we will also see of this encounter,” said Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine. “This is the defining moment.”
Outside the palace, there is usually a whirl of activity as commentators relentlessly speculate on what is being said inside, and news helicopters fly overhead.
Traditionally, the new Prime Minister leaves the palace in a government car and heads to his official home and office behind the famous black door at No. 10 Downing Street, where he will make a statement.
New British Prime Minister has ‘unfinished business’
Andy Burnham served in Labor governments two decades ago before leaving London in 2017 to run for Mayor of Greater Manchester.
Burnham was a popular leader of the northwest English city, overseeing economic regeneration, improved public transport and growing cultural confidence.
Burnham, 56, says he has “unfinished business” on the national stage, and Starmer’s problems have given him the opportunity to return to Parliament after winning a special election.
Burnham says he will work to replicate Manchesterism nationally, by harnessing public and private investment to stimulate economic growth and handing power from central government to local and regional leaders across the country. He pledges to bring a sense of hope back into politics.
But he will have to convince a skeptical British public that he has what it takes to improve their lives.
What will happen at Buckingham Palace?
Andy Burnham has been the leading waitlist in the UK over the past week. But he will not become Prime Minister until King Charles says so.
That will happen today at Buckingham Palace in an exchange that embodies the fact that in this parliamentary democracy, the right to rule still derives from royal authority.
The ceremony dates back to the time when the king exercised supreme power and chose his most prominent minister, the prime minister, to run his government.
That has changed, of course. Modern Britain is a constitutional monarchy in which the king’s powers are strictly limited by law and tradition. But centuries after real power passed to the elected House of Commons, many things still retain echoes of the past.
One of those moments is the moment when the king formally asks the politician of his party’s choice to form the next government.
How did Britain get to this point?
Britain got its latest prime minister just two years ago, when Keir Starmer led the Labor Party to a landslide election victory.
Starmer’s honeymoon was short-lived. A series of political mistakes and shifts sapped popular support. After disappointing local election results in May, Labor took the nuclear option and forced him to resign.
Parliamentary democracy in Britain allows ruling parties to change leaders in mid-term elections, with the winner becoming prime minister without the need to hold a general election.
The next national election does not have to be held until 2029, five years after the last one in 2024, although Burnham could call it sooner if he wanted to.
Get ready to meet the Rat Boss
Before the day is out, Andy Burnham is likely to meet Larry the Cat, the most famous permanent resident of No. 10 Downing Street.
The grey-and-white spinster has lived at the Prime Minister’s residence since 2011, and is survived by six of Burnham’s ancestors.
Once adopted as a stray to help combat a rodent problem, Larry now royally patrols Downing Street, often appearing immediately upon the arrival of visiting dignitaries.
He was already seen on Monday morning, the center of attention in front of the polished black door.
Photographer Justin Ng, one of the cat’s most frequent historians, said Larry was the most stable thing in British politics.
“(It’s) like the night watchman at Downing Street,” Ng said. “He watches people and reassures them. People are reassured by his presence that things will continue,” he added.
These days, Larry has his own profile on the government’s website and more than 900,000 followers on X. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte recently stopped by to say hello, but all the leaders hope to see at his side.
Now he just has to win over Burnham’s dog, Axel. No problem, right?
It’s an emotional day in Downing Street
It’s a working day in Downing Street, the official residence of the British Prime Minister.
Departing leader Keir Starmer will give a short farewell speech before heading to Buckingham Palace to submit his resignation to King Charles III. The king will then invite new Labor 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 at 10 Downing St.
Labor hopes Burnham’s arrival will signal the end of the rapid transformation of the UK’s leaders. He will be the country’s seventh prime minister since 2016.