LONDON — Andy Burnham on Monday became Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade, pledging to break with the politics of the past to deliver a new economic model to benefit a nation “fed up” with a revolving door of leaders.Burnham used his first speech outside Downing Street to promise political stability after years of upheaval, while vowing to maintain support for Ukraine and tackle the cost-of-living crisis that has squeezed households across the country.In front of dozens of supporters outside his new office at 10 Downing Street, Burnham said politicians had failed to bring the stability needed to raise living standards, something he said he would change with immediate policies and a longer-term plan to be drawn up later this year.Burnham, who became prime minister after replacing Keir Starmer, said his government would work to restore confidence in politics by delivering “hope” and “national renewal”.He pledged to introduce a long-term plan to rebuild the country, arguing that Britain needed a “circuit-breaker” from decades of economic and political decline.”Britain needs to show the world that we can regain our stability once again,” Burnham said just after being appointed by King Charles III to take over from Starmer.”I know people at home are fed up with politics. I hear you, and I want to be honest with you, we have not been good enough and we need to be better,” he said, speaking without notes and dispensing with the lectern that prime ministers generally use.”We will make this moment a circuit-breaker for Britain, bringing forward the biggest changes in the last 40 years. A new political model and a new economic model.”He pledged to “issue my first instruction to end rough sleeping in our country” once he starts work.Starmer departed Downing Street on Monday morning, insisting in a farewell speech his two years in office had made Britain a better place.The monarch met Starmer to accept his resignation and Burnham arrived next for the formal procedure in which the king asked him to form the next government and he accepted.The 56-year-old is the sixth prime minister to enter Downing Street in the last 10 years.
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