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Newly appointed British Prime Minister Andy Burnham delivers his inaugural address outside 10 Downing Street in London, UK, on July 20 (local time). / Courtesy of Reuters and Yonhap News

Leader of the ruling Labour Party Andy Burnham was officially sworn in as the 59th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on July 20 (local time).

Major news outlets including the BBC and The Guardian reported that Prime Minister Burnham officially assumed office after meeting with King Charles III, the head of state, at Buckingham Palace in London to accept the invitation to form a government.

Burnham was elected as the 20th leader of the Labour Party at a special party conference in London on July 17, confirming his position as the next prime minister. Under the UK's parliamentary system, a change in party leadership within a parliamentary majority results in a change of prime minister without holding a general election.

Delivering his inaugural address in front of 10 Downing Street, Prime Minister Burnham stated, "I am painfully aware that I am the sixth person to walk down this street and enter this door in the last decade, and the seventh prime minister since 2016."

He announced that his government would act as a circuit breaker to shift Britain's trajectory, driving the largest transformation in 40 years.

"In the 1980s, Britain took a number of wrong turns," he explained. "Political power was concentrated in the central government, economic power was privatized, and the industrial base across the country collapsed, leaving many regions still struggling to recover from those wounds."

Prime Minister Burnham promised, "We will change politics. We will make politics more collaborative, focusing on solving problems rather than attacking opponents to score points."

He further emphasized, "We will devolve power from here in Whitehall out to the regions, ensuring every community across the UK gains more authority to achieve more. We will build a new economy that places essential public services under stronger public control, making them affordable for everyone."

In closing, Burnham urged, "I will place the care of our people at the absolute heart of everything I do. Let us build a new sense of national unity, shared purpose, and positive spirit together."

He added, "I hope this moment marks a turning point where Britain restores its confidence and rekindles its hope."

He is scheduled to announce measures to ease the cost of living tomorrow, followed by the unveiling of a medium-to-long-term national vision for the next decade by the end of this year.

Burnham becomes the second prime minister of the Labour administration, which took power following its general election victory in July 2024. He is also the sixth UK prime minister in the past ten years, following Theresa May (who took office in July 2016), Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak, and Keir Starmer.

Born in 1970 to a working-class family in Aintree, Lancashire, in Northern England, Prime Minister Burnham officially entered politics after working as a parliamentary researcher and ministerial adviser, winning a seat in the House of Commons in 2001.

During his 16 years as a Member of Parliament, he served in cabinet as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Secretary of State for Health, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and held shadow cabinet posts. In 2017, he was elected as the inaugural Mayor of Greater Manchester—a combined authority of ten boroughs—and served for nine years across three consecutive terms.

During his tenure as mayor, his unconventional moves challenging London-centric politics earned him the nickname "King of the North."

Former Prime Minister Starmer, who recently stepped down, faced surging pressure to resign following a crushing defeat in the local elections last May, amid sharp declines in approval ratings caused by major policy reversals, economic stagnation, and personnel controversies during his two-year tenure.

                                                                                                            Kim Hyun-min