Who is Andy Burnham? This is the seventh UK Prime Minister in the last 10 years: List of PMs since Brexit

The former Mayor of Greater London, Andy Burnham, has taken over the role of prime minister of the United Kingdom. The 56-year-old is the seventh prime minister the nation has had in ten years. This level of political turnover is an anomaly from the norm of the previous four decades, during which there were only six different prime ministers.

The so-called ‘King of the North’, a moniker that he earned during the covid-19 pandemic for the conflict he had with former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, something that brought him into the wider spotlight of U.K. politics and helped make him one of the most popular politicians in the country, has promised to bring stability to U.K. politics.

As well as Burnham says he will implement a new model of governing, one that is “more collaborative, more about problem-solving than point scoring,” he said in a speech outside 10 Downing Street.

He said that his government will do more to “build a new economy where we put life’s essentials back under stronger public control to make them affordable to you again, reindustrializing Britain, using public procurement to back British industry.” He has also vowed to build the most public housing since WWII, cut welfare spending in a “fair and lasting way,” and cut taxes for retail businesses.

Who is Andy Burnham?

Burnham has presented himself as a ‘man-of-the-people’ politician who has roots in the working class. He was born in a suburb of Liverpool to a telephone engineer and a receptionist. He attended University of Cambridge where he met his wife, Marie-France van Heel, who is originally from the Netherlands. The couple have three adult children.

After university, Burnham and his wife moved to London. He has been a member of the Labor Party since he was 14 and was first elected to Parliament to represent a northern district at the age of 31.

He left Parliament and ran for the mayorship of the Greater Manchester in 2017. Under his leadership, he has helped accelerate the city’s redevelopment and managed to get the central government to devolve more powers to cities. Manchester now has one of the fastest growing local economies in the U.K.

Whether he will be successful in implementing that economic growth model nationwide as he intends has yet to be seen.

List of U.K. PMs since 2016 Brexit

The turmoil and instability in British politics can be traced back to the 2016 referendum on Brexit. Ten years on, the project has failed to produce the benefits that were promised by supporters and it has continued to cause headaches for each successive leader.

The former Prime Minister David Cameron (2010-2016; 2,255 days), attempting to stop Tory party infighting and neutralize Nigel Farage’s UK Independence Party (UKIP), called for the referendum. His gamble backfired and he quit the day after a narrow majority of voters decided to leave.

Theresa May (2016-2019: 1,106 days) took over and was tasked with negotiating the U.K.’s exit from the E.U. While she managed to get an agreement, her own conservative party rejected it.

She was followed by Boris Johnson (2019-2022; 1,140 days). He managed to get the divorce settled but also had to deal with the covid-19 pandemic. His handling came under intense criticism and along with several scandals he was forced out by his own Tory party.

The shortest premiership in U.K. history is that of Liz Truss (September 6 - October 25, 2022; 49 days). She came in with promises of lowering taxes, kick starting economic growth, and improving affordability. A ‘mini-budget’ she put forth triggered severe fallout in the financial markets.

Rishi Sunak (2022-2024; 619 days), another conservative, took the baton but the Tory brand had been severely damaged and he was unable to revive their fortunes. The Conservatives lost to Labor in its biggest electoral defeat in its history going back nearly two hundred years.

While he coming into 10 Downing Street with a landslide victory, Keir Starmer’s (2024-2026; 745 days) missteps, policy decisions, and scandals associated with his government have left him as the most unpopular U.K. prime ministers in modern times.

Get closer to the game! Whether you like your soccer of the European variety or that on this side of the pond, our AS USA app has it all. Dive into live coverage, expert insights, breaking news, exclusive videos, and more. Plus, stay updated on NFL, NBA and all other big sports stories as well as the latest in current affairs and entertainment. Download now for all-access coverage, right at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere.

And there’s more: check out our TikTok and Instagram reels for bite-sized visual takes on all the biggest soccer news and insights.