Burnham says he'll be a pro-business PM in London speech

Ellen Milligan and Chloe Chaplain, Bloomberg News on Jul 17, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

LONDON — Andy Burnham said he’ll be a pro-business prime minister, in his first speech since formally winning an uncontested race to lead the governing Labour Party.

“Make no mistake, everybody, I will be a pro-business leader of the Labour Party, as I was a pro-business mayor of Greater Manchester,” he said, pointing to small local businesses like pubs and shops, rather than large firms.

As he prepares to take over from Keir Starmer as British premier on Monday, Burnham paid tribute to the “foundation laid” by his predecessor. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, in her role as chair of Labour’s National Executive Committee, announced the result before Burnham’s address. She is the currently the favorite to become chancellor next week.

“I haven’t made any decisions yet about who will be in that top team, but I will soon,” Burnham said. “And when I have, you will see it reflects all parts of our party, all communities, and it will reflect your own place within this great party of ours.”

Shortly before moving vans were pictured outside Downing Street, Burnham said he’s ready to lead the nation and return Labour to being a party which represents the U.K.’s forgotten regions. He criticized decisions taken under former Conservative premier Margaret Thatcher to increase privatization, saying, “The country surrendered control of the essentials: housing, water, energy, transport, and left people exposed to higher costs.”

Bloomberg reported on Thursday that the incoming prime minister will use his first days in office to announce that he’s bringing Thames Water under greater public control: “The right used the phrase ‘take back control’ but they are the ones who gave it away in the first place,” he said.

He promised a country where “life is more affordable, and all people and places are lifted from where they are now.”

In his speech, the former mayor of Manchester said he’d prioritize five key changes to how the government is run. He said he would:

•Unify his party and break from Labour “factionalism”

•Build a new politics that eschews points-scoring

•Setting a direction that is distinctively “Labour” without imitating opposition parties

•Represent all parts of the U.K.

•Restore power to the regions by devolving power from Whitehall

At times, he was self-deprecating, making reference to opposition parties’ jokes about his dress sense, and his chameleonic political allegiances over the nearly-three decades he’s been in politics.

He also appeared to critique Starmer’s leadership of Labour, by promising to “build a new politics,” one that’s “less toxic” and will “set a direction that is distinctively Labour.”

“We won’t try to out-Green the Greens or out-Reform Reform or do what we have done in the past of wearing too many Tory clothes,” he said in reference to left and right-wing parties that have taken votes from Labour in recent elections.

“This change today is the most significant change moment in our politics for 40 years,” he concluded.

—With assistance from Alex Morales.