UK forms new government as PM plans 'biggest changes' in decades

Lineup of ministerial appointments approved.

Andy Burnham (pictured) has officially succeeded Keir Starmer as UK Prime Minister, vowing to come up with a 10-year plan for the country.

"We will make this moment a circuit breaker for Britain, bringing forward the biggest changes in the last forty years," the new Labour Party leader said on 20 July 2026 on the steps of Downing Street in London.

Burnham, the Member of Parliament for Makerfield who took over as PM following Starmer's resignation, declared during his first speech as head of government: "We will take power out of here and carry it into every postcode in the land so that they can do more.

"And in doing more, build a new economy where we put life's essentials back under stronger public control to make them affordable to you again. Re-industrialising Britain, using public procurement to back British industry.

"Later this year, I will bring forward a new plan for Britain, a 10-year plan, laying out a path from where we are now to where I believe we all want Britain to be, wherever we're coming from, whatever party we support."

Meanwhile a whole lineup of ministerial appointments has been approved. They include new Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey, Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury Anneliese Midgley, and Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Jonathan Reynolds.

Also amongst the appointments are Shabana Mahmood, Pat McFadden, and Heidi Alexander, who will remain as Secretary of State for the Home Department, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, and Secretary of State for Transport, respectively.

"Britain needs to show the world that we can regain our stability once again," stated Burnham, whose predecessors include Theresa May, Boris Johnson, and Rishi Sunak. Amongst other things, he promises to change the education system to help more young people into work.