Andy Burnham is Britain's new Prime Minister, having met with King Charles at Buckingham Palace in London. Earlier, former Prime Minister Keir Starmer defended his record in his final adddress to the country, saying the UK was "stronger and fairer," than it was when he was elected.
Starmer made the remarks before he headed to Buckingham Palace to hand his resignation to King Charles.
"I took our party from a historic defeat in 2019… and won a landslide election victory in 2024. Since then it has been the privilege of my life to serve you as Prime Minister. I’m confident Britain is stronger and fairer than it was two years ago," Starmer said in his farewell message speech as UK leader.
Starmer said he had acted on manifesto promises the Labour Party made to the British pubic in 2024, namely bringing immigration down, improving the NHS and enhancing the UK's international reputation.
He also mentioned Ukraine in his final message and stressed the importance of defending the UK from its enemies.
Starmer wished Burnham "every success" in his speech and said the former Mayor of Greater Manchester has his "full support."
Burnham faces a daunting inbox, including stagnant productivity, stubborn inflation and a worsening housing crisis.
The 56-year-old is expected to announce plans to cap bus fares, bring water and energy back into public ownership and launch the biggest council house building programme since the mid 20th century in a speech.
He has already announced the scrapping of a £1.8 billion ($2.4 billion) for all employees to hold a digital identity document, a scheme designed to tackle illegal migration but which has been deeply unpopular.
Describing his election to become Labour Leader as "the most significant change moment in our politics for 40 years", Burnham has promised to radically change Britain's political system to quickly raise living standards.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged the country’s biggest political and economic reforms in four decades.
“We will make this moment a circuit breaker for Britain,” he said, promising to decentralise power, revive regions affected by deindustrialisation and promote problem-solving over political point-scoring.
But there are already signs of problems with reporting infighting between Labour politicians over top jobs in Burnham’s cabinet.
An early frontrunner for the position of Chancellor, ex-Labour leader Ed Miliband, is rumoured to have now been looked over in favour of Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
Burnham called on his party to ignore "speculation" on Friday and said he had not yet decided on his team.
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An agreement between Iran and the U.S. to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is expected "soon," a U.S. official has said. The deal would result in the resumption of commercial shipping through the sea passage and the lifting of an American naval blockade on Iranian ports.
Flights arriving at Catania airport in eastern Sicily were suspended after volcanic ash from a new eruption of Mount Etna drifted into the airspace around the airport, disrupting operations at one of Italy’s busiest aviation hubs.
A deal on a new route for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is "very close," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said, while warning that the reopening of the waterway depends on the U.S. meeting other conditions, including paying compensation to Iran.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 9th of August, covering the latest developments.
Iran said it was nearing a final pact with Oman defining new shipping lanes between them through the Strait of Hormuz but repeated that the U.S. must meet other conditions.
Eclipse fever is building in Madrid as residents and visitors rush to secure protective glasses ahead of a rare total solar eclipse near sunset on Wednesday (12 August).
A gunman was arrested after opening fire at a local government office near Bangkok on Monday, days after a deadly school shooting renewed debate over gun control in Thailand.
Flights arriving at Catania airport in eastern Sicily were suspended after volcanic ash from a new eruption of Mount Etna drifted into the airspace around the airport, disrupting operations at one of Italy’s busiest aviation hubs.
The future of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza roadmap remains uncertain, with Israel and Hamas divided over its implementation, particularly the sequence of Hamas’s disarmament and an Israeli withdrawal.
At least six people were killed and dozens injured in overnight Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia’s Belgorod region, while Russian missile and drone attacks killed two people in Kharkiv and injured eight others in Odesa, according to regional authorities.
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