Andy Burnham set to finally become Prime Minister on Monday
Andy Burnham will become the sixth Prime Minister in the past 10 years today as speculation reached fever pitch on his proposed Cabinet appointments.
The keys to Number 10 Downing Street will finally be in his possession three days after the former mayor of Greater Manchester was formally declared leader of the Labour party in an astonishing “coronation”.
Mr Burnham will pledge to restore confidence in government and give people “breathing room”.
The new Labour leader will set out his domestic priorities in his first speech from Downing Street after visiting the Palace to “kiss hands” with the King and formally take over from Sir Keir Starmer.
He is expected to characterise the moment as one of “reflection and resolution”, arguing Britain must be honest about the challenges it faces and demonstrate it can solve them.
The new Prime Minister is then expected to speak on the steps of Downing Street, with cabinet announcements being made later.
Mr Burnham has not given any firm answers about who is set to join his cabinet, with his deputy leader branding the speculation as “horrible”.
Lucy Powell told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: “There’s been a lot of speculation in the media about various individuals, which has been really quite horrible, to be honest, and unedifying.
“I know that, as political journalists, maybe you’ve not had the story of the Labour leadership crisis to write about for the last few weeks, because actually I’m really proud of the way in which the Labour Party has handled this transition and come together in a consensus around Andy Burnham being the next leader, and I think we’ve given a really good account of ourselves over these last few weeks.”
Ed Miliband, the current Energy Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, the current Home Secretary, and Wes Streeting, the former Health Secretary, could all be in line for Chancellor of the Exchequer according to media reports.
Ms Powell also spoke about widely reported plans that Mr Burnham will scrap Labour’s digital ID project.
In his first speech from Downing Street, Mr Burnham is expected to set out measures to provide “breathing space” on the cost of living, while elaborating on his commitment to devolve power away from Westminster and ensure economic growth throughout the UK.
Reports have suggested this could also include approval of further oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.
The incoming prime minister has also promised to “spend political capital” on addressing England’s “broken” social care system, describing it as a “massive” priority for the public.
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