{"id":1988,"date":"2026-06-23T17:23:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T17:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnnglobalnews.com\/2026\/06\/23\/who-is-andy-burnham-the-uks-prime-minister-in-waiting\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T17:23:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T17:23:09","slug":"who-is-andy-burnham-the-uks-prime-minister-in-waiting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/?p=1988","title":{"rendered":"Who is Andy Burnham, the UK\u2019s prime minister in waiting?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Keir Starmer\u2019s likely successor offers a fresh coat of paint over the same unpopular policies<\/strong><\/p>\n

British Labour MP Andy Burnham looks set to be airdropped into Downing Street to replace Prime Minister Keir Starmer. He\u2019s promising \u201crenewal for our party and our country,\u201d <\/em>after the sitting prime minister effectively burned the greatest parliamentary majority in over a hundred years with scandals, a lack of empathy, and a notoriously belligerent line on the country\u2019s relationship with Israel.<\/p>\n

However, despite the premature hailing of Burnham as someone who could reinvigorate the Labour vote, all signs point to him delivering Starmerism without Starmer.<\/p>\n

Starmer resigned on Monday as the most unpopular prime minister in modern British history, six weeks after the Labour Party lost almost 1,500 seats in local elections across England. His resignation opened a leadership contest that Burnham \u2013 a Labour veteran that served under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, who re-entered parliament after winning a by-election in Makerfield, Manchester last week \u2013 is all but guaranteed to win.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"Prime
UK\u2019s Starmer resigns as prime minister<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

An endorsement by fellow Labour contender Wes Streeting followed, essentially sealing the deal. Burnham will likely be anointed prime minister later this summer on the back of fewer than 25,000 votes in Makerfield.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe country expects stability, seriousness and a continued focus on the issues that matter most and that is what it will get,\u201d<\/em> Burnham wrote on social media. \u201cThe Labour movement has always been at its strongest when it looks forward with confidence\u2026and we will make sure this transition is a positive process of renewal for our party and our country.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The Andy Burnham aesthetic<\/h2>\n

At first glance, Burnham represents an aesthetic break from Starmer, who has been described as \u201cwooden<\/a>\u201d<\/em> and \u201clacking in charisma<\/a>.\u201d<\/em> Speaking in a slightly working class northern accent and clad in a simple shirt and jeans, Burnham goes to great lengths to set himself apart from the \u201cWestminster bubble\u201d<\/em> inhabited by suit-and-tie southerners like Starmer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

The North vs South-off in the battle to be British Prime Minister – which pitch will win out? pic.twitter.com\/r0CKtH6Z5s<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 \u0256\u0280\u028a\u04c4\u0584\u01df \u04c4\u028a\u057c\u029f\u025b\u028f \ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddf9\ud83c\uddf9\ud83c\udde9 (@kunley_drukpa) June 20, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The British media have largely accepted this framing. The Financial Times has described him as a man who bases his policies on conversations with voters in supermarkets, while The Times has described his views as shaped by the \u201cclass-conscious history of Catholicism in the north,\u201d<\/em> as well as his time as a church altarboy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Should he get the job, he will be the first Roman Catholic in British history to become prime minister. But scratch the PR-friendly surface, and Burnham starts to look more and more like the prime minister he\u2019s set to replace.<\/p>\n

Are Andy Burnham and Keir Starmer really that different?<\/h2>\n

Aesthetic differences aside, Starmer and Burnham are both products of the same political pipeline. Both were educated in England\u2019s most elite universities, with Starmer studying at Oxford and Burnham at Cambridge. Both represent the centrist, managerial \u2018New Labour\u2019 of Tony Blair, not the left-wing Labour of Jeremy Corbyn. Back in 2015, both tried and failed to prevent Corbyn from wresting control of the party after Ed Miliband\u2019s resignation, with Starmer endorsing Burnham\u2019s failed leadership bid.<\/p>\n

\n

\ud83d\udea8 WATCH: Andy Burnham has just left Manchester and is set to arrive in London at 1:09pm pic.twitter.com\/ngUA1huyAa<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) June 22, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Starmer eventually succeeded Corbyn in 2020, using accusations of anti-Semitism to oust one of Britain\u2019s most vocal supporters of Palestine. He has since reshaped the party as an Atlanticist, pro-Israel political force, and there is no indication that Burnham will abandon this course.<\/p>\n

Labour\u2019s losing message on Israel<\/h2>\n

Labour\u2019s position on the Israel-Palestine conflict is existential for the party. Under Starmer, Palestine Action was listed as a terrorist organization, and the PM called for the \u201cpolicing of language\u201d<\/em> and banning anti-Israel protests. As a result, Labour\u2019s left-wing base has abandoned the party in droves, switching allegiance to the explicitly pro-Palestinian Green Party. Against public protests and complaints from his own MPs, Starmer refused to call for a ceasefire in Gaza in late 2023 and publicly affirmed Israel\u2019s right to cut off power and water to the strip\u2019s two million residents.<\/p>\n

Burnham, like Starmer, is a member of Labour Friends of Israel \u2013 a group that only a quarter of Labour MPs have joined. He backed Starmer\u2019s coup against Corbyn, describing the party as \u201cembroiled in an anti-Semitism crisis.\u201d<\/em> And in his 2015 leadership bid, he promised that his first overseas trip as prime minister would be to Israel, which he praised for its \u201clong history of protecting minorities and promoting civil rights.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Andy Burnham in the 2015 Labour Leadership Election:<\/p>\n

“The first country I will visit if elected is ‘israel'”!<\/p>\n

Meet the new puppet, same as the old one. pic.twitter.com\/9OzyorBdqi<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 UNN (@UnityNewsNet) June 20, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

None of this will ingratiate Burnham with Labour\u2019s left wing. Nor will it help him with Muslim voters, two thirds of whom say they will no longer consider voting for the party, according to a poll taken last month.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Burnham backed the Iraq War<\/h2>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"Keir
Why was Keir Starmer\u2019s government so unpopular?<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Starmer famously marched against the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 but prevaricated when the US and Israel began striking Iran in February. After an initial public statement in which he condemned Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s attempts to impose \u201cregime change from the skies,\u201d<\/em> Starmer went on to allow the US military to conduct what he called \u201cdefensive\u201d<\/em> strikes on Iran from British bases.<\/p>\n

For his part, Burnham voted in favor of joining the 2003 invasion of Iraq, a decision that he has since described as \u201cagonizing.\u201d<\/em> However, he went on to vote against formal inquiries into Britain\u2019s conduct in Iraq and has said little about the war on Iran, describing it as \u201cnot simple.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Like Starmer and every Conservative PM since 2022 \u2013 Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak \u2013 Burnham is staunchly pro-Ukraine, promising to \u201cstand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Can voters trust Andy Burnham on immigration?<\/h2>\n

Although immigration policy is largely a right-wing concern, more and more of Labour\u2019s voters back tougher border controls in the wake of the so-called \u2018Boriswave\u2019: the post-Brexit surge in non-EU immigration that has seen more than 4 million migrants arrive in the UK since 2020. According to a YouGov poll, half of Labour\u2019s 2024 voters now think Starmer is handling immigration badly, while 49% want overall immigration numbers reduced, according to a separate Ipsos survey taken last year.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"UK
Keir Starmer\u2019s resignation is an illusion of democracy<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Starmer managed to cut net migration in half from 2024-2025, and although Burnham has said the figures \u201cneed to fall further,\u201d<\/em> his past views suggest that voters will not take his current position at face value. Burnham called on the Conservative government to accept more Middle Eastern asylum seekers in 2015 and advocated for social welfare payments for newly-arrived migrants in 2019.<\/p>\n

Nigel Farage\u2019s Reform UK has branded Burnham \u201copen-borders Burnham\u201d<\/em> over these positions. With Reform winning as many seats in last month\u2019s by-elections as Labour lost, and with the party\u2019s tough immigration policies three times as popular<\/a> as Labour\u2019s, it is highly unlikely that Burnham will be able to turn around Starmer\u2019s polling on the issue.<\/p>\n

New prime minister, new taxes<\/h2>\n

Starmer took office during an unprecedented decline in British living standards and immediately began imposing new taxes to fill a \u00a322 billion ($29.9 billion) hole in public finances. Spending increases on healthcare, education, and policing were limited, and between July 2024 and November 2025, Starmer\u2019s government imposed a new tax or increased an old one every ten days, according to the Taxpayers\u2019 Alliance.<\/p>\n

Unlike Starmer, Burnham has promised a quasi-socialist surge in public spending. On the campaign trail in Makerfield, he called for a sweeping wave of nationalization, energy price caps, public housing construction, and defense spending hikes. However, his appointment of MP Miatta Fahnbulleh as economic adviser suggests that the end result will be the same for the British taxpayer.<\/p>\n

In order to pay for this ambitious agenda, Fahnbulleh, whose father worked in the government of former Liberian President Samuel Doe, has proposed the imposition of a wealth tax and windfall taxes on oil and gas, hikes in capital gains and property taxes, and increases in property and dividend taxes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nigel Farage demands elections<\/h2>\n

Burnham is on the cusp of becoming the UK\u2019s sixth prime minister in seven years. Only three of these \u2013 Theresa May, Boris Johnson, and Keir Starmer \u2013 actually won a general election, and none served a full five-year term. None have managed to turn Britain\u2019s cratering economy around, none have offered any kind of shift in foreign policy, and none have reduced immigration to a level acceptable to voters.<\/p>\n

\n

British PMs since 2016 and how long they spent in power:<\/p>\n

\u25fe\ufe0fDavid Cameron \u2014 429 days<\/p>\n

\u25fe\ufe0fTheresa May \u2014 1,106 days<\/p>\n

\u25fe\ufe0fBoris Johnson \u2014 1,140 days<\/p>\n

\u25fe\ufe0fLiz Truss \u2014 49 days<\/p>\n

\u25fe\ufe0fRishi Sunak \u2014 619 days<\/p>\n

\u25fe\ufe0fKeir Starmer \u2014 717 days + remaining days<\/p>\n

None of them served out their full terms pic.twitter.com\/u32u1NXiam<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 RT (@RT_com) June 22, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cAndy Burnham knows this,\u201d<\/em> Farage wrote in a blog post on Monday. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t care about our borders, our rotten high streets, our energy bills or our collapsing finances. That\u2019s why he didn\u2019t even try and campaign on his own ideas \u2013 because he doesn\u2019t have any. His plan for government is to act as continuity Starmer, and hope the rest of us are too stupid to notice.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Reform demands a general election to fix broken Britain. pic.twitter.com\/8YsAtTr2oB<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) June 22, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Whereas Burnham has called for an \u201corderly and responsible\u201d<\/em> transition of power, Farage has demanded a general election, but Starmer has insisted on installing a successor \u201cto ensure the Labour Party secures a second term in office.\u201d<\/em> With the party\u2019s first term set to drag on until 2029, few expect Burnham to make it that far. All Starmer has done is to ensure that, whenever an election is called, it is Burnham\u2019s, and not his, to lose.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Keir Starmer\u2019s likely successor offers a fresh coat of paint over the same unpopular policies British Labour MP Andy Burnham looks set to be airdropped into Downing Street to replace … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1988\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}