Burnham Vows Unity After Lightning Ascent to UK Premiership

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Or sign-in if you have an account.Shabana Mahmood Photo by Betty Laura Zapata /Photographer: Betty Laura Zapata(Bloomberg) — Andy Burnham is set to become the UK’s seventh prime minister in just over a decade on Monday with a number of outstanding questions about who will be in his cabinet and the policy direction he will pursue.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLYSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESCreate an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountIn an address from Downing Street, the incoming premier will pledge to deliver tangible improvements in people’s lives, while stressing that his rise to high office is a moment for “reflection and resolution,” according to advance remarks sent by his office. He will set out his domestic priorities, and conclude on a “message of optimism” saying Britain can look to the future with “hope and unity.”Despite securing the backing of the vast majority of his party’s Members of Parliament last week, Burnham has already irked a swath of his party by refusing to give certainty on who he’ll appoint to key cabinet positions including Chancellor of the Exchequer, and what policies he’ll pursue to mark his administration out as significantly different from that of the man he is replacing, Keir Starmer.Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againThe incoming leader will inherit a prime ministerial inbox bursting with tricky issues, including how to keep lowering immigration levels that helped spur the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, containing the nation’s ever-increasing welfare bill, reinvigorating Britain’s stagnant productivity and overhauling social care to cater for an ageing population.On the global front, he’ll have to contend with an unpredictable US president in Donald Trump, while seeking to maintain British leadership in defense of Ukraine. A key challenge will be ramping up core defense spending to get to a pledged level of 3.5% of national output by 2035.Burnham’s arrival at 10 Downing Street will complete a dizzying ascent for a Labour veteran and twice-defeated leadership contender who, less than 10 weeks ago, was serving as the mayor of Greater Manchester outside Parliament and with no obvious route to national power. But Josh Simons’ resignation as the MP for Makerfield gave Burnham a House of Commons seat to contest, and when he resoundingly defeated Nigel Farage’s Reform in the resulting by-election on June 18, the momentum behind him became unstoppable. Seeing the writing on the wall, Starmer announced his resignation days later. Monday’s events are expected to begin with a mid-morning address in Downing Street by Starmer. He’ll then head to Buckingham Palace to hand his resignation to King Charles III. Burnham himself will then be driven to the palace for a ceremony called kissing of hands — in modern times, no kissing is involved — at which he’ll be asked to form a government. He’ll then head to Downing Street to address the public around lunchtime and following that, is expected to begin appointing his cabinet.The frontrunner to be named chancellor is Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, a move that will be seen as a snub to Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, the former party leader who was the early favorite for the role and was instrumental in Burnham’s ascent to power. Burnham may install Miliband in the Foreign Office — another major role — in order to pacify him.This advertisement has not loaded yet.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.Close Burnham allies Louise Haigh, Anneliese Midgley and Deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell are all likely to be given significant roles. The fates of Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, former Health Secretary Wes Streeting and former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner will all be closely watched as Burnham seeks to avoid having powerful rivals on Labour’s back benches. Starmer, who remains an MP, is not expected to want or be given a cabinet role.On Sunday, Powell — who could be deputy prime minister by the end of Monday — sought to defend the opacity around Burnham’s cabinet plans, saying: “You don’t start appointing a government and a cabinet until you’re actually prime minister.” She declined to speculate on her own prospects, saying, “I will wait to see all of that tomorrow.”Policy-wise, Burnham has said he will stick to the manifesto with which Labour fought the 2024 general election — a move that hinders his ability to raise the the Treasury’s three main revenue earners — income tax, national insurance and value added tax. It also commits him to the triple lock guaranteeing annual rises in the state pension until after the next election. Burnham has also said he’ll stick to Reeves’ budgetary rules.In his only major policy speech of a leadership campaign that never gathered speed due to a lack of rivals, Burnham majored on plans to ramp up devolution, including establishing an outpost of No. 10 in Manchester, overseeing the biggest house-building program since the postwar period and giving more control over taxation as well as services such as water, energy and transport to the regions.Over the weekend, Burnham’s team outlined plans to scrap proposals for a national digital ID, vowing instead to plow the cash that would have been spent on the program — £1.8 billion ($2.4 billion) over three years according to the Office for Budget Responsibility — into priorities such as measures to alleviate the cost of living for ordinary Britons.In his early days in power, Burnham is also preparing to announce new drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea as well as taking public control of Thames Water, Bloomberg reported last week. The North Sea move may ease relations with Trump, who’s no ideological bedfellow, but has regularly criticized Starmer and Miliband for curtailing development in the North Sea. Responding to the news, Trump on Sunday posted that people in Aberdeen, the UK’s oil capital, “are dancing in the streets.”Powell told the BBC on Sunday that while Burnham stands by manifesto promises that include a pledge for no new exploration licenses in the North Sea, he would bring about a “change of emphasis.” That may leave wiggle room for two stalled projects that had licenses, Rosebank and Jackdaw. “What Andy is talking about is taking a more pragmatic approach and working with the industry to make sure that it can contribute,” she said.On Thames Water, Powell told Sky that privatization of the water industry “hasn’t worked,” and added that “the government has powers to bring a distressed water company under special measures.”On Friday, when he became Labour leader, Burnham promised his government would start to “confidently” lay out a path for the future starting Monday. “I am ready,” he said. “I have a plan.”Notice for the Postmedia NetworkThis website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. 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