Picture : @andyburnham/X / @UKLabour
Andy Burnham officially assumed office as the 7th Prime Minister of United Kingdom, succeeding Keir Starmer. Within hours of taking charge at 10 Downing Street, Burnham signalled a change in direction with a major Cabinet reshuffle and a pledge to introduce a 10-year plan aimed at easing the cost-of-living crisis. The new PM also set out ambitions to revive British industry, decentralise power and tackle rough sleeping.
The new administration carries a surprise Indian imprint, with Burnham entrusting Indian-origin politicians Lisa Nandy and Kanishka Narayan with key ministerial portfolios. Nandy retained the culture brief, while Narayan was appointed Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence. Burnham, who was invited to form the government by King Charles on Monday, set about unveiling the team of ministers who will join him around the Cabinet table soon after.
Lisa Nandy has been appointed as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport @dcms. pic.twitter.com/NeWPUFiALc
— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) July 20, 2026
Lisa Nandy will continue to hold on to her department, with additional responsibilities as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The 44-year-old Manchester-born daughter of Calcutta-born academic Dipak Nandy and English mother Luise Byers is a close ally of Burnham as his Makerfield constituency neighbour in Wigan, within the Greater Manchester region.
Meanwhile, Narayan said his elevation, as Minister for AI, falling jointly within the Cabinet Office and the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, is a sign of the new PM’s “deep commitment to AI’s importance”. He further added, “AI is likely the most significant technology in human history. Its impact will dwarf other things. The best case for it is compelling beyond our dreams: a reindustrialised Britain, stronger national security, public services transformed for the better.” Narayan was elected as the first Indian-origin member of Parliament from Wales in the July 2024 general election. The 36-year-old Bihar-born Labour MP for the Vale of Glamorgan, who held the AI brief as a junior minister in former prime minister Keir Starmer’s team, pledged to act with “pace and ambition” and “focus relentlessly on securing British influence in shaping AI”.
Burnham also outlined plans to support the British industry through public procurement and increase the construction of public housing. Reiterating his view that “in the 1980s Britain took some wrong turns”, Burnham said he wanted to transfer more decision-making away from Westminster and “put life’s essentials back under stronger public control to make them affordable”.
Burnham begins his premiership facing a series of domestic and international challenges, including weak economic growth, rising government borrowing costs, an expanding welfare bill and continued arrivals of irregular migrants in small boats, an issue that has strengthened support for the hard-right Reform UK party. The unpredictable energy prices linked to the US-Iran war and an uncertain relationship with Washington under Trump are some key issues his government has to deal with. Having previously served as an MP from 2001 to 2017, Burnham returns to national office at a time of high public debt and fiscal rules requiring government spending to remain balanced against tax revenues.
The Labour party secured a landslide election victory under former PM Starmer in July 2024 after 14 years of Conservative rule, but his time in office became marked by scandals, policy reversals and political setbacks. Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester known as the “King of the North”, was chosen by Labour after Starmer resigned, with MPs viewing him as the party’s strongest option to counter Reform, led by Nigel Farage. However, his rapid appointment as Labour leader and prime minister without a leadership contest, has already prompted opposition politicians to question his mandate.
