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In an address on Monday Andy Burnham will set out his values, indicating what sort of leader he hopes to be, and what the priorities will be for his administration
Andy Burnham faces a series of issues as he becomes PM(Image: Getty Images)
Andy Burnham will become Prime Minister on Monday and face a series of major decisions immediately.
The Labour leader has vowed to “build a new politics” and to unite the party, but must do so while keeping MPs happy on a a range of issues.
Once Keir Starmer formally resigns as Prime Minister on Monday, Mr Burnham will be sworn in, deliver a speech outside Downing Street, then begin appointing his Cabinet.
In an address, he will set out his values, indicating what sort of PM he hopes to be, and what the priorities will be for his administration.
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He is expected to use Monday’s speech to set out plans to give people “breathing space” on the cost of living and highlight his core theme of devolving power from Whitehall to regions across the UK.
That devolution process will be driven from Mr Burnham’s new “No 10 North” in Manchester, which he is expected to visit during his first week in power.
Allies said Mr Burnham will set out policies aimed at making people’s lives easier with a promise of delivering change people can feel as soon as possible.
He has already begun to receive national security briefings ahead of his formal appointment and has talked to officials about his priorities in office and the first events he will go to as PM.
In a speech on Friday, the former Greater Manchester Mayor claimed “forgotten places everywhere up and down this country” were calling “for a return of the Labour they once knew”.
Mr Burnham vowed to serve “people and places who have been waiting too long for politics to let them hope again”, adding: “We’re going to give them hope back.”
The new Labour leader also acknowledged that his generation of politicians had failed to challenge a political culture and economic model that did not work well enough for ordinary people.
