Andy Burnham is Britain’s new Prime Minister, the country’s seventh since 2016

A significant shift in British government. No immediate material consequence for Australians, though UK policy direction on trade and the AUKUS relationship is worth watching.

In a nutshell: Keir Starmer resigned as Labour leader on 22 June after catastrophic local election results and the Epstein-Mandelson scandal drained party support. Andy Burnham, former Mayor of Greater Manchester, was acclaimed Labour leader on 17 July with 379 of 403 Labour MP nominations — more than 94% — and became Prime Minister on 20 July. He faces a sluggish economy, a cost-of-living crisis and a surging Reform UK in the polls.