Andy Burnham to become new prime minister and lay out \u201810-year plan\u2019 for the UK in No 10 speech<\/p>\n
Good morning. Today we are getting a new PM. It is the sixth time this has happened in just over a decade (Theresa May replaced David Cameron on 13 July 2016), and so in some respects there is nothing very new or surprising about this. Yet the process has been unusual. In the past, when parties in power have replaced a PM, generally they have opted for someone popular with their own MPs, but less popular than their predecessor with the public at large (Liz Truss, Theresa May, Gordon Brown), or for someone more popular with the public, but less liked by their own activists (John Major, Rishi Sunak). At the start of the year, anyone looking at polling would have concluded that the logical choice for Labour would have been to replace Keir Starmer<\/a> with Andy Burnham. Labour is not always noted for taking decisions that will be electorally beneficial, but in this case that is what it has achieved. It has replaced a PM who had become an electoral millstone with one of the most admired politicians in the country, and with someone \u2013 for the moment at least \u2013 with his whole party behind him.<\/p>\n That may not be the case by the end of the day, after Burnham has named his cabinet. We\u2019ll have to see. Here is Rowena Mason\u2019s overnight story about what to expect today.<\/p>\n Burnham has given an interview to the Times<\/a> and, while it does not contain any big new announcements, it is full of intriguing clues as to how he will govern. Two in particular stand out.<\/p>\n First, Burnham said he would be setting out a \u201c10-year plan\u201d for the country. He also told the Times that this was a statement about the scale of his ambitions, not about how long he planned to stay as PM. Patrick Maguire, who interviewed Burnham, said:<\/p>\n double quotation markThis week [Burnham] will tell us of his \u201cten-year plan for the country\u201d. Perhaps his premiership won\u2019t last that long, he conceded. \u201cI\u2019m not saying that means I\u2019m setting out to say I\u2019m going to be here for ten years \u2026 it\u2019s more that we\u2019re not in the right place structurally, we\u2019re not in the right place as a country. I think people can feel that.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, it sounds like Burnham would like to stay for 10 years.<\/p>\n And, second, Burnham dismissed claims that he was an inherent tax raiser. He even suggested that he would like to reverse the freeze in the personal allowance that has functioned as a stealth tax, leading to people paying proportionally more tax every year as their pay goes up but the allowance doesn\u2019t. Burnham told Maguire:<\/p>\n double quotation markOne thing I heard most on the doorsteps in Makerfield was frustration about the personal allowance<\/a>, frozen at \u00a312,570 \u2026 [That complaint] lodged in my mind.<\/p>\n Burnham did not commit to ending the freeze, which would cost billions. But he suggested he was not a kneejerk tax raiser. He told Maguire:<\/p>\n double quotation markThey\u2019re just characterising me as a tax raiser. Well, again, it\u2019s never that simplistic, is it?<\/p>\n Last week Burnham said in an interview<\/a> he thought he might have to ask people to pay \u201ca little more\u201d in tax.<\/p>\n I will post more from the Times interview shortly.<\/p>\n Here is the agenda for the day.<\/p>\n 11.15am: Keir Starmer gives his final speech from Downing Street, before leaving to tender his resignation to the king.<\/p>\n 12.40pm: Andy Burnham<\/a> arrives in Downing Street where he will give a speech, having been appointed PM by the king at Buckingham Palace.<\/p>\n Afternoon: Burnham appoints his cabinet.<\/p>\n Comments should be open later although, as I explained on Friday<\/a>, we are going to stop having regular comments below the line on this blog from the end of this week. If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open or message me on social media.<\/p>\n If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X<\/a>, but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.<\/p>\n I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can\u2019t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.40 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n In her interview with the BBC\u2019s Laura Kuenssberg yesterday, Lucy Powell, the deputy Labour leader and a prominent Andy Burnham ally, attempted to hose down reports suggesting<\/a> Burnham would issue new licences for oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.<\/p>\n She said that the Labour<\/a> manifesto policy (which said \u201cwe will not issue new licences to explore new fields\u201d) would still apply. But there might be a \u201cchange of emphasis\u201d, she implied. She said:<\/p>\n double quotation markI think what Andy is talking about is taking a more pragmatic approach and working with the industry to make sure that it can contribute to that transition and to the mix that is needed over the long term. So, let\u2019s see what he\u2019s got to see about that, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a change of policy. It\u2019s more a change of emphasis.<\/p>\n This may not go down in Washington. Yesterday Donald Trump posted a message <\/a>on his Truth Social platform claiming that Burnham would be opening up the North Sea \u201call the way\u201d.<\/p>\n Trump tweet Photograph: Truth Social<\/p>\n It was not clear from the post whether this was just routine Trump detachment from reality, or whether this was an intentional misrepresentation designed to give Trump the excuse for his first row with the new UK PM when he discovers that Burnham is not a fossil fuel fanatic.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>A woman cleaning the door at No 10 this morning. Photograph: Ryan Jenkinson\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n And, on the subject of the No 10 lectern, Andy Burnham may not be using it when he delivers his speech today, according to the BBC\u2019s Chris Mason. Mason says<\/a> Burnham is \u201cdetermined to hit the ground running and, where possible, to maintain the style of leadership he adopted as the mayor of Greater Manchester.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n When Keir Starmer last gave a speech outside Downing Street, on the day he announced he would be resigning, part of his speech was almost drowned out<\/a> by the sound of the Ode to Joy, the EU anthem, being played in Whitehall by the veteran anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray. Bray had done this several times before to prime ministers speaking from a lectern outside No 10.<\/p>\n But he won\u2019t be doing that today. Yesterday the Metropolitan police put this announcement on social media<\/a>.<\/p>\n double quotation markConditions are in place on Whitehall tomorrow (Monday, 20 July).<\/p>\n Anyone assembling near the Downing Street gates to observe events linked to the new Prime Minister must not use any amplified noise equipment and must stay within the shaded area. These conditions are in place between 10:30 \u2013 13:30.<\/p>\n Map of where restrictions apply Photograph: Metropolitan police<\/p>\n In response, Bray has set up shop outside Buckingham Palace<\/a>. But he told the BBC<\/a> he would not be playing music when Keir Starmer and Andy Burnham head there for their audiences with the king.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Here are some pictures of the media scrum at Downing Street this morning.<\/p>\n Members of the media in Downing Street this morning. Photograph: Temilade Adelaja\/ReutersMembers of the media in Downing Street. Photograph: Ryan Jenkinson\/Getty ImagesMembers of the media in Downing Street. Photograph: Jack Taylor\/ReutersShare<\/a>Burnham confirms he is planning ‘early moves’ to help people with cost of living<\/p>\n Here are some more lines from Patrick Maguire\u2019s interview with Andy Burnham in the Times today.<\/a><\/p>\n double quotation markJudge me in six, twelve months on whether I\u2019ve lapsed back into that [doing conventional politics]. I\u2019m going to really try not to. Politics needs a bit of a line drawn. What we\u2019ve been doing hasn\u2019t been working. That\u2019s the way I see it. We\u2019ve had a decade of it just not working. Carry on like that or try and do it in a different way. I am going to try and do things in a different way.<\/p>\n double quotation markYou will see early moves to help. It\u2019s all about helping people \u2026<\/p>\n It\u2019s much more about the real show in town, which is that pressure people feel around their finances, and what we heard on the doorstep all over Makerfield: can\u2019t go out for a pint on Friday, can\u2019t go out with the kids, can\u2019t have a holiday, that\u2019s where it is, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n double quotation markYou\u2019ve seen what we\u2019ve done with digital ID this morning. That\u2019s an example of what\u2019s to come, freeing up resource from something that, in my view, wouldn\u2019t make a tangible difference to people\u2019s lives anytime soon. And even if it did, it wouldn\u2019t necessarily make life easier, it might do in the long run.<\/p>\n double quotation markIt\u2019s all about what you do, though, isn\u2019t it? There\u2019s no point being here because you\u2019re here. I won\u2019t name names, but I do think I have seen people in parliament, Westminster \u2026 they get to something because they want to do that something. They want to be that office holder, and that\u2019s it. I can honestly say that isn\u2019t good enough for me, it really isn\u2019t \u2014 just to say I got there. I\u2019ve never been like that. I promise you: it\u2019s what I do with it.<\/p>\n double quotation markThere\u2019s a critique here that is a more sophisticated critique than some people think. I think you have to rethink how we run things to get a different approach to public spending, and to running the economy \u2014 more focused on early investment, early intervention, setting people up for success, and much less paying for failure.<\/p>\n double quotation markIt\u2019s where I\u2019ve gone wrong, sometimes in my political career \u2026 It\u2019s when I\u2019ve not been true to my instincts. I hate saying it like this, but my instincts are pretty good. And I said it on Friday: I do listen to people.<\/p>\n double quotation markI\u2019m going to say things about my generation of politicians as not being good enough. I do think a lot of people need to collectively reflect a bit. We\u2019re almost just following the worst patterns of social media.<\/p>\n double quotation markI\u2019ll try and find common ground with anybody \u2026 I will always recognise capable politicians when I see them. I think Kemi is probably much more capable than some of her predecessors. She\u2019s certainly impressive in some ways. And you\u2019ve got to admire Farage\u2019s communication skills.<\/p>\n He said he had persuaded the No 10 security team to let him carry on attending Everton matches in his own seat in the stands. (He is a season ticket holder.) \u201cI\u2019ve already got a commitment \u2026 I can try it, at least,\u201d he said. Keir Starmer<\/a> is an Arsenal season ticket holder, but when he became PM he was told he had to watch matches from the directors\u2019 box because the police argued they would not be able to keep him safe if watched from the stands. Burnham said this was very important to him because he wanted to be in the stands so he could hear what other people had to say. He said:<\/p>\n double quotation markI said it on Friday: I do listen to people. That\u2019s where I\u2019ve always picked up my straws in the wind. And that\u2019s my style. I\u2019ve got to find a way of keeping that: sitting in my own seat. It\u2019s actually the best thing I could do. Every game there would be a mega focus group on me.<\/p>\n He said he had told officials that he was Catholic, and he suggested that meant some Church of England-related decisions might be delegated elsewhere. Burnham no longer attends mass regularly. But, describing what happened when officials asked if he was Catholic, he replied: \u201cMy mother would never forgive me if I answered no to that question.\u201d<\/p>\n He talked about his father, who has dementia and does not appreciate that his son is becoming PM. He also said that his father spent many years trying to persuade his son to back proportional representation. He said:<\/p>\n double quotation markI don\u2019t think he\u2019s ever realised, because of his condition, that I\u2019ve come round to PR, which is one of his missions \u2014 to get me to accept that.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>A man cleaning the street in Downing Street this morning. Photograph: Ryan Jenkinson\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a>Andy Burnham to become new prime minister and lay out \u201810-year plan\u2019 for the UK in No 10 speech<\/p>\n Good morning. Today we are getting a new PM. It is the sixth time this has happened in just over a decade (Theresa May replaced David Cameron on 13 July 2016), and so in some respects there is nothing very new or surprising about this. Yet the process has been unusual. In the past, when parties in power have replaced a PM, generally they have opted for someone popular with their own MPs, but less popular than their predecessor with the public at large (Liz Truss, Theresa May, Gordon Brown), or for someone more popular with the public, but less liked by their own activists (John Major, Rishi Sunak). At the start of the year, anyone looking at polling would have concluded that the logical choice for Labour would have been to replace Keir Starmer<\/a> with Andy Burnham. Labour is not always noted for taking decisions that will be electorally beneficial, but in this case that is what it has achieved. It has replaced a PM who had become an electoral millstone with one of the most admired politicians in the country, and with someone \u2013 for the moment at least \u2013 with his whole party behind him.<\/p>\n That may not be the case by the end of the day, after Burnham has named his cabinet. We\u2019ll have to see. Here is Rowena Mason\u2019s overnight story about what to expect today.<\/p>\n Burnham has given an interview to the Times<\/a> and, while it does not contain any big new announcements, it is full of intriguing clues as to how he will govern. Two in particular stand out.<\/p>\n First, Burnham said he would be setting out a \u201c10-year plan\u201d for the country. He also told the Times that this was a statement about the scale of his ambitions, not about how long he planned to stay as PM. Patrick Maguire, who interviewed Burnham, said:<\/p>\n double quotation markThis week [Burnham] will tell us of his \u201cten-year plan for the country\u201d. Perhaps his premiership won\u2019t last that long, he conceded. \u201cI\u2019m not saying that means I\u2019m setting out to say I\u2019m going to be here for ten years \u2026 it\u2019s more that we\u2019re not in the right place structurally, we\u2019re not in the right place as a country. I think people can feel that.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, it sounds like Burnham would like to stay for 10 years.<\/p>\n And, second, Burnham dismissed claims that he was an inherent tax raiser. He even suggested that he would like to reverse the freeze in the personal allowance that has functioned as a stealth tax, leading to people paying proportionally more tax every year as their pay goes up but the allowance doesn\u2019t. Burnham told Maguire:<\/p>\n double quotation markOne thing I heard most on the doorsteps in Makerfield was frustration about the personal allowance<\/a>, frozen at \u00a312,570 \u2026 [That complaint] lodged in my mind.<\/p>\n Burnham did not commit to ending the freeze, which would cost billions. But he suggested he was not a kneejerk tax raiser. He told Maguire:<\/p>\n double quotation markThey\u2019re just characterising me as a tax raiser. Well, again, it\u2019s never that simplistic, is it?<\/p>\n Last week Burnham said in an interview<\/a> he thought he might have to ask people to pay \u201ca little more\u201d in tax.<\/p>\n I will post more from the Times interview shortly.<\/p>\n Here is the agenda for the day.<\/p>\n 11.15am: Keir Starmer gives his final speech from Downing Street, before leaving to tender his resignation to the king.<\/p>\n 12.40pm: Andy Burnham<\/a> arrives in Downing Street where he will give a speech, having been appointed PM by the king at Buckingham Palace.<\/p>\n Afternoon: Burnham appoints his cabinet.<\/p>\n Comments should be open later although, as I explained on Friday<\/a>, we are going to stop having regular comments below the line on this blog from the end of this week. If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open or message me on social media.<\/p>\n If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X<\/a>, but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.<\/p>\n I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can\u2019t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.<\/p>\n