Andy Burnham

The Right Honourable

Andy Burnham

MP
Official portrait, 2026
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Assumed office
20 July 2026
MonarchCharles III
First SecretaryLouise Haigh
Preceded byKeir Starmer
Leader of the Labour Party
Assumed office
17 July 2026
DeputyLucy Powell
Preceded byKeir Starmer
Mayor of Greater Manchester
In office
8 May 2017 – 19 June 2026
DeputyRichard Leese
Paul Dennett
Preceded byTony Lloyd (interim)
Succeeded byBev Craig
Ministerial positions
Secretary of State for Health
In office
5 June 2009 – 11 May 2010
Preceded byAlan Johnson
Succeeded byAndrew Lansley
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
In office
24 January 2008 – 5 June 2009
Preceded byJames Purnell
Succeeded byBen Bradshaw
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
In office
28 June 2007 – 24 January 2008
ChancellorAlistair Darling
Preceded byStephen Timms
Succeeded byYvette Cooper
Shadow Home Secretary
In office
13 September 2015 – 6 October 2016
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Preceded byYvette Cooper
Succeeded byDiane Abbott
Shadow Secretary of State for Health
In office
7 October 2011 – 13 September 2015
Leader
Preceded byJohn Healey
Succeeded byHeidi Alexander
In office
11 May 2010 – 8 October 2010
Leader
  • Harriet Harman (acting)
  • Ed Miliband
Preceded byAndrew Lansley
Succeeded byJohn Healey
Shadow Secretary of State for Education
In office
8 October 2010 – 7 October 2011
LeaderEd Miliband
Preceded byEd Balls
Succeeded byStephen Twigg
Junior ministerial offices
Minister of State for Health
In office
5 May 2006 – 28 June 2007
Preceded byJane Kennedy
Succeeded byBen Bradshaw
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Home Affairs
In office
9 May 2005 – 5 May 2006
Preceded byCaroline Flint
Succeeded byJoan Ryan
Member of Parliament
Assumed office
18 June 2026
Preceded byJosh Simons
ConstituencyMakerfield
Majority9,231 (20.3%)
In office
7 June 2001 – 3 May 2017
Preceded byLawrence Cunliffe
Succeeded byJo Platt
ConstituencyLeigh
Personal details
Born
Andrew Murray Burnham

(1970-01-07) 7 January 1970 (age 56)
Aintree, Lancashire, England
Political partyLabour Co-op
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 2000)​
Children3
Residence
EducationSt Aelred's Catholic High School
Alma materFitzwilliam College, Cambridge (MA)
Andy Burnham's voice
Burnham on bus deregulation in Greater Manchester
Recorded 13 February 2017

Andrew Murray Burnham (born 7 January 1970) is a British politician who has been the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party since 2026. He has also been Member of Parliament (MP) for Makerfield since 2026. He was the Mayor of Greater Manchester from 2017 until 2026. Before, he was the Member of Parliament for the Leigh constituency from 2001 until 2017. He is a member of the Labour Party. Burnham calls himself a socialist and is part of the Labour's soft left faction. His political ideology has been called "Manchesterism".

Burnham was a candidate for Leader of the Labour Party in the 2010 and 2015. He has been seen as one of the most popular Labour politicians in the country.

In 2026, Burnham began trying to return to parliament and was seen as a possible challenger to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. He was rejected to run in the 2026 Gorton and Denton by-election in February 2026. He then ran in the 2026 Makerfield by-election in June 2026, which he won. Four days later, Starmer announced he would resign and Burnham announced his candidacy in the Labour Party leadership election to replace Starmer. He was elected Labour leader in July 2026, having been the only candidate in the election, and became prime minister on 20 July 2026.

Early life

Andrew Murray Burnham was born on 7 January 1970 in Aintree, Merseyside a suburb of Liverpool. His father, Kenneth Roy Burnham, was a telephone engineer and his mother, Eileen Mary Burnham, was a receptionist. He was raised in Culcheth and studied at St Lewis Catholic Primary School and St Aelred's Roman Catholic High School, in Newton-le-Willows. He read English at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.

Early parliament career

At the 2001 election, Burnahm was elected MP for Leigh in Greater Manchester. Under the prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, he had many cabinet roles. He was the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and then as Culture Secretary. In 2009 he was promoted to Health Secretary, in which he responded to the swine flu pandemic.

After Labour lost power in 2010, Burnham was in the Shadow Cabinets of Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn in many positions from 2010 to 2016. He was the Shadow Education Secretary, primarily Shadow Health Secretary and lastly Shadow Home Secretary.

Burnham ran for Labour's leadership in 2010 and 2015, coming fourth and second.

Burnah was picked the Labour candidate for the new Greater Manchester Mayoralty, he won the mayoral election in 2017 and resigned as MP.

Mayor of Greater Manchester

On 5 May 2017, he was elected mayor of Greater Manchester. He was re-elected as mayor in 2021 and 2024.

As Mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham supported reforms to public transport, taking buses back into local control and bringing them, along with trams. For his work to get more furlough funding for Northern communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, he was called "King of the North".

Burnham resigned on 19 June 2026 after being elected as the MP for Makerfield.

Return to Parliament

In January 2026, Burnham applied to be the Labour Party candidate in the 2026 Gorton and Denton by-election but his candidacy was blocked by the party because they thought should he win, Burnham would challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership.

After the 2026 local elections and growing calls for Prime Minister Starmer to resign, Burnham has been seen as a possible challenger against Starmer's leadership. On 14 May 2026, Josh Simons resigned as MP for Makerfield causing a by-election, with Burnham confirming his plans to run in the election. The next day, his candidacy was approved. In June 2026, Burnham won the election, winning in a landslide victory.

2026 leadership campaign

On 22 June 2026, Keir Starmer announced that he would resign as Prime Minister, remaining in office until a new leader is elected. The same day, Burnham announced he would run in the Labour Party leadership election to replace Starmer. Burnham was sworn in as an MP later the same day.

On 13 July 2026, Burnham received 349 MP nominations, making it mathematically impossible for any other candidate to be nominated. He was elected unopposed. He was elected with 94% of the vote, making it the highest amount of MP nominations ever recorded in a modern Labour leadership contest. He became prime minister on 20 July 2026, succeeding Keir Starmer.

Prime Minister

After being appointed prime minister by King Charles III on 20 July 2026, Burnham began announcing his cabinet later that day. Burnham's cabinet is the first in history with a majority of female ministerial appointments, with 12 of the 23 members of the cabinet (which includes the Prime Minister) being women. That day, he gave his first speech as prime minister where he said that he was "aware" that he was the country's sixth prime minister in ten years. He became the first prime minister to be a member of the Labour and Co-operative Party.

During his first day, Burnham made phone calls with United States president Donald Trump, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen shortly after taking office on 20 July 2026. In his first speech as Prime Minister, Burnham mentioned re-industrialisation, fixing the the cost-of-living crisis, education system reform, construction of council homes, and ending rough sleeping as priorities.

Along Burnahm still works at the prime minister's traditional office at 10 Downing Street in London, Burnham created Number 10 North, an office in Manchester. Both locations were grouped together under a new Office for the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. Burnham is expected to work at Number 10 North at least one day per week.

Personal life

Burnham married Marie-France van Heel, who is Dutch, in 2000, having been in a relationship since university. The couple have a son and two daughters.

References

  1. ↑ "House of Commons Hansard; vol 371, part 14, col 333". Hansard. Parliament of the United Kingdom. 4 July 2001. Retrieved 12 October 2008.
  2. ↑ New Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport[permanent dead link] BACTA, 28 January 2008
  3. ↑ Stratton, Allegra; Wintour, Patrick (1 July 2010). "Andy Burnham's Labour leadership bid based on a return to socialist values". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
  4. ↑ "Can Burnham turn 'Manchesterism' into a practical offer for government". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  5. ↑ "Andy Burnham, next PM? The big hurdle facing popular mayor". Sky News. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
  6. ↑ "Who is Andy Burnham? Labour leadership contender guide". BBC News. 2015-07-28. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
  7. ↑ Anon (2007). ,. Who's Who (online Oxford University Press ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U41936. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help) closed access
  8. ↑ "Andy's biography from his Andy4Leader web-site". Archived from the original on 5 July 2010.
  9. ↑ "Biography of Andy Burnham : Department of Health". Webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 7 April 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  10. ↑ "Sometimes a problem really is an opportunity... for others". The Times. 25 January 2008. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009.
  11. ↑ Mason, Rowena (17 February 2013). "Mid Staffs: Labour Government ignored MP requests for public inquiry into deaths". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015.
  12. ↑ "Andy Burnham pledges to renationalise railway network". BBC News. 4 August 2015.
  13. ↑ "Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn names Andy Burnham shadow home secretary". BBC News. 13 September 2015. Archived from the original on 16 September 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  14. ↑ Dathan, Matt (13 May 2015). "Andy Burnham becomes third candidate to declare Labour leadership bid". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 24 January 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  15. ↑ "Andy Burnham says he won't stand again as Leigh MP regardless of mayoral election outcome". ITV News. 19 April 2017. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  16. ↑ Williams, Jennifer (2017-05-05). "Andy Burnham elected as Greater Manchester's mayor". men. Retrieved 2017-05-09.
  17. ↑ Martin, Iain. "Andy Burnham: Is the 'king of the north' unprincipled or the real deal?". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 10 December 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  18. ↑ Diver, Tony; Neilan, Catherine (20 October 2020). "Manchester moved to Tier 3 as Andy Burnham warns country will fracture". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  19. ↑ "How did Andy Burnham reinvent himself as king of the north?". The Independent. 10 October 2020. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  20. ↑ "Coronavirus: Andy Burnham is the 'King of the North' – a crown the PM believed he'd won". Sky News. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  21. ↑ Nevett, Joshua (25 January 2026). "Andy Burnham's bid to return as MP blocked by Labour's ruling body". BBC News. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
  22. ↑ "Andy Burnham Meets MPs In London As Manchester Mayor Sets Sights On No 10". Politics Home. 2026-05-12. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
  23. ↑ "Andy Burnham's camp scrambles to challenge a Wes Streeting leadership bid". POLITICO. 2026-05-13. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
  24. ↑ Crerar, Pippa (2026-05-14). "Labour MP to stand down to allow Burnham run for byelection amid leadership row". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
  25. ↑ Spivey, Matt; Hatton, Ben; Nevett, with political reporter Joshua (May 15, 2026). "Andy Burnham allowed to run for selection in Makerfield by-election, Labour's ruling body says - live updates". BBC News. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
  26. ↑ Ford, Rob (2026-06-19). "Makerfield by-election: Crunching the numbers – why Burnham's win is so significant". Sky News. Retrieved 2026-06-19.
  27. ↑ "Inside Makerfield: How Andy Burnham defied the polls in historic by-election". ITV News. 19 June 2026. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  28. 1 2 Crerar, Pippa (2026-06-22). "Keir Starmer to step down as prime minister two years after historic election victory". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-06-22.
  29. ↑ Stacey, Kiran (19 June 2026). "'Astonishing' win for Andy Burnham puts pressure on Starmer to step aside". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  30. ↑ Andy Burnham Confirms Run to Replace Starmer. Retrieved 2026-06-22 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  31. ↑ Sparrow, Andrew (2026-06-22). "Andy Burnham sworn in as an MP after Keir Starmer resigns as prime minister - UK politics live". the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-06-22.
  32. ↑ "Burnham will be next prime minister after 349 MPs back him as Labour leader". ITV News. 13 July 2026. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  33. ↑ "Andy Burnham is sworn in as prime minister". BBC News. 20 July 2026.
  34. ↑ Andy Burnham to Become Prime Minister. Retrieved 2026-07-20 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  35. ↑ Crerar, Pippa (2026-07-20). "Andy Burnham becomes prime minister". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  36. ↑ Bosotti, Rorey; Hatton, Ben; Mason, Chris; Eardley, Nick (20 July 2026). "Healey appointed chancellor and Miliband becomes foreign secretary as Andy Burnham picks cabinet". BBC News. Archived from the original on 20 July 2026. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  37. ↑ "Meet The 14 Women In Andy Burnham's New Cabinet, From Shabana Mahmood To Angela Rayner". ELLE. 2026-07-21. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  38. ↑ Spivey, Matt; Hadfield, Charlotte; Mason, with Chris; Street, Henry Zeffman reporting from Downing; Coughlan, Sean; Palace, Daniela Relph at Buckingham (20 July 2026). "Andy Burnham at Buckingham Palace to become prime minister after Keir Starmer formally resigns". BBC News. Archived from the original on 20 July 2026. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  39. ↑ "Andy Burnham becomes UK's first Labour and Co-operative prime minister". Coop News. 21 July 2026. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
  40. ↑ Sutherland, Callum (2026-07-17). "Andy Burnham Calls for 'New Politics' in U.K. in First Speech as Labour Leader". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
  41. ↑ "Andy Burnham's first speech as Prime Minister: 20 July 2026". GOV.UK. 2026-07-20. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
  42. ↑ "Whitehall officials offered move to No 10 North in Manchester". BBC News. 21 July 2026. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  43. ↑ "The reality of a dream job". Guardian. 28 January 2008. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.

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