“BIGGER, BOLDER”
Deputy Labour Party leader Lucy Powell said on Sunday that Burnham’s mayoral experience away from the London centre of government meant he understood the “bigger, bolder measures” needed to deliver on Labour’s election manifesto promises.
Among Burnham’s most urgent challenges will be a tepid economy, high government borrowing costs, a ballooning welfare bill and irregular migrants arriving in small boats that have fuelled support for Reform.
Unpredictable energy prices due to the US-Iran war and a volatile American president in Donald Trump also threaten to buffet his premiership.
The new prime minister wanted to “radically” rewrite an “over-centralised” political system and an economic model that had put vested interests ahead of ordinary people, Powell told BBC television.
“It’s about giving ordinary people security in work, security in their home, a home they can afford and live in a community that they can feel proud of and knowing that their children are going to have opportunity for the future,” she said.
Starmer announced that he would resign as prime minister and Labour Party leader in late June after a string of scandals, missteps and policy U-turns blighted his leadership.
But Burnham, who only returned as a member of parliament four weeks ago, has little room to manoeuvre amid sluggish economic growth, high public debt and strict financial rules requiring him to balance government spending against tax revenue.
Monday’s handover will begin with Starmer visiting Buckingham Palace to formally tender his resignation to the king before making a brief statement outside 10 Downing Street.
Burnham will then make his own trip to Buckingham Palace, before his first speech as prime minster which will be a moment of “reflection and resolution,” he will say, stressing Britain must be honest about the challenges it faces.
