When Andy Burnham accepts the keys to 10 Downing Street on Monday, he will step into a role that has seen rapid turnover: he will become the United Kingdom’s seventh prime minister in just 10 years. The former Greater Manchester mayor secured an overwhelming vote to take over as leader of the Labour Party this Friday, following Keir Starmer’s resignation last month. Political and economic analysts widely agree that Burnham inherits a lengthy, high-stakes to-do list, with many of the unresolved issues that forced his predecessors out of office now falling to his new administration.
First on the agenda is addressing the persistent cost-of-living crisis that has left millions of UK voters struggling to cover basic expenses. Skyrocketing energy and food prices, spurred by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, have eroded household purchasing power for years, and voters are demanding urgent action to make daily life more affordable. Burnham’s room for policy maneuver is tightly constrained, however: the UK is grappling with stagnant economic growth, sky-high public debt, and binding fiscal rules that require the government to balance spending against tax revenue.
In his first speech after being confirmed as Labour leader, Burnham laid out his core economic vision, promising to build a nation “where life is more affordable”. A central pillar of his growth strategy is devolving more governing power to regional economic hubs, a policy designed to unlock local potential that can drive national growth. As Philip McCann, a senior researcher at the Productivity Institute, explained, this approach shifts growth leadership outside London, turning underperforming regional economies into national growth engines. Burnham has also outlined plans to back small and medium-sized businesses, drive “reindustrialization” across former industrial regions, and expand public ownership of key public services including water, public transport, and energy. Early reporting from the *Financial Times* indicates he may loosen long-standing restrictions on new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea as a short-term measure to cut domestic energy bills for consumers. The ideological direction of his economic agenda will largely hinge on his upcoming pick for finance minister, a decision that has not yet been announced.
A second major challenge is tackling the UK’s rapidly ballooning welfare budget, a problem Burnham has publicly acknowledged requires targeted reduction. His predecessor Starmer faced fierce backlash from both the public and his own party over proposed welfare reforms that included cutting winter fuel payments for low-income elderly pensioners. Starmer ultimately was forced to backtrack on the changes, a policy reversal that significantly eroded his public approval and contributed to his resignation. As a member of Labour’s soft left faction, Burnham faces intense internal pressure to avoid deep cuts to working-age and pensioner benefits, even as he must address the growing cost of the welfare system. He has also pledged to fix long-standing underfunding in the social care sector, a portfolio he first attempted to overhaul during his tenure as UK health secretary in 2009. With personal experience caring for a father living with Alzheimer’s, Burnham said in his Friday speech that he was “prepared to grasp the nettle” of reform, adding that the current social care system “is broken”.
On the defence front, Burnham inherits a critical £4.7 billion (US$6.3 billion) funding gap in the Labour government’s four-year defence investment plan. The long-delayed strategy was published by Starmer’s government last month, but full delivery of the plan now falls to Burnham’s new administration. Beyond closing the funding gap, he faces growing pressure from within Labour and from key allies including the United States to further increase defence spending to meet NATO’s new target of devoting 3.5 percent of GDP to defence by 2035. Burnham has previously committed to taking full “responsibility” for funding the defence plan and making “no compromise” on UK national security.
One of Burnham’s most pressing political challenges is reversing the flow of Labour voters to rival fringe parties, particularly the surging support for Nigel Farage’s hard-right, anti-immigration Reform UK. Labour has also lost support to the left-wing Green Party in recent years, with both parties making major gains in 2024 local elections — a shift that piled increasing pressure on Starmer to step aside for a leader who could reverse these losses. In his Friday speech, Burnham laid out a clear new political strategy, promising to build a “distinctly Labour” policy direction that is independent of both fringe parties. “We win by being us,” he said. “We won’t try to out-Green the Greens, or out-Reform Reform, or doing what we’ve done in the past of wearing too many Tory clothes.” London School of Economics politics professor Tony Travers said this signals a clear break from Starmer’s centrist approach. “What this signals is that the Labour Party under Burnham will want to try to win back voters from Reform and the Greens with a different offer,” Travers told Agence France-Presse.
In foreign policy, Burnham will need to quickly navigate a complex and volatile global landscape. Top of the international agenda is building a working relationship with unpredictable U.S. President Donald Trump, who has already publicly labeled Burnham “extremely liberal”. According to Travers, Starmer maintained a relatively cooperative relationship with Trump until the escalation of the U.S.-Iran conflict, leaving Burnham to chart a new course for the special relationship. Beyond U.S.-UK relations, Burnham must manage the ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, two conflicts that have significant ripple effects on UK energy prices and domestic stability. So far, Burnham has signaled he will maintain broad continuity with Starmer’s widely praised foreign policy, retaining close ties to NATO and all key UK allies. “Our relationship with the US will remain critical as our most important defence and security ally. And Britain’s support for Ukraine will not waver,” Burnham wrote in a recent op-ed for *The Times*.