Andy Burnham will on Monday become Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade, with an in-tray overflowing with challenges that have trounced his predecessors and little time to make his mark.

The new leader takes over from the unpopular Keir Starmer just two years after the outgoing prime minister led Labour to power in a landslide election victory after 14 years of Conservative rule.

After being asked by King Charles III to form the next government, Burnham is due to make his first speech on Monday outside 10 Downing Street shortly after Starmer has said his farewells.

He will set out “priorities for restoring confidence in government and giving Britain more breathing room” amid the cost-of-living crisis, his team said. Delivering growth and devolving power to regional communities are also expected to feature.

An announcement on his senior cabinet appointments is also expected on Monday, with all eyes on who will replace Rachel Reeves as finance minister.

The former mayor of Greater Manchester, nicknamed the “King of the North”, has been parachuted in by the Labour Party, after Starmer resigned last month, with MPs viewing him as the party’s best chance of reining in Nigel Farage’s anti-immigration Reform UK party.

– ‘Bigger, bolder’ –

Deputy Labour Party leader Lucy Powell said on Sunday that Burnham’s mayoral experience away from the London centre of government meant he understood the “bigger, bolder measures” needed to deliver on Labour’s election manifesto promises.

Among Burnham’s most urgent challenges will be a tepid economy, high government borrowing costs, a ballooning welfare bill and irregular migrants arriving in small boats that have fuelled support for Reform.

Unpredictable energy prices due to the US-Iran war and a volatile American president in Donald Trump also threaten to buffet his premiership.

The new prime minister wanted to “radically” rewrite an “over-centralised” political system and an economic model that had put vested interests ahead of ordinary people, Powell told BBC television.

“It’s about giving ordinary people security in work, security in their home, a home they can afford and live in a community that they can feel proud of and knowing that their children are going to have opportunities for the future,” she said.

Starmer announced that he would resign as prime minister and Labour Party leader in late June after a string of scandals, missteps and policy U-turns blighted his leadership.

But Burnham, who only returned as a member of parliament four weeks ago, has little room to manoeuvre amid sluggish economic growth, high public debt and strict financial rules requiring him to balance government spending against tax revenue.

Monday’s handover will begin with Starmer visiting Buckingham Palace to formally tender his resignation to the king before making a brief statement outside 10 Downing Street.

Burnham will then make his own trip to Buckingham Palace, before his first speech as prime minister, which will be a moment of “reflection and resolution,” he will say, stressing Britain must be honest about the challenges it faces.

– ‘Last chance’ –

Burnham was an MP between 2001 and 2017, serving as a minister in the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

He has since reinvented himself as a man of the people, melding a relaxed, folksy style with slick social media videos.

But he has only three years to turn things around, with Reform tipped in polls to win the next general election expected in 2029.

Burnham told supporters on Friday his Labour takeover was the “last chance” for the party to get things right.

Critics have accused Starmer’s government of being under-prepared for power when he was elected in July 2024.

Burnham has insisted he has a “plan”.

But his swift “coronation” as Labour leader has raised questions on how he will achieve his aims.

His first policy announcement came on Saturday when he scrapped Starmer’s flagship nationwide digital ID scheme, estimated to cost £1.8 billion over three years.

A spokesperson said the time and resources would be diverted “to where it’s most needed, such as helping with the cost of living”.

AFP

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The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, will today inaugurate an ad hoc committee to investigate the controversial inclusion of the unestablished Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) in the 2026 Appropriation Act.

This comes amid fresh criticism over the exclusion of the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, from the list of invited witnesses.

The inauguration and public hearing will take place at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja, in line with Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which empower the National Assembly to investigate matters relating to the administration of public institutions and the management of public funds.

The committee, chaired by the member representing Kanke/Kanam/Pankshin Federal Constituency of Plateau State, Yusuf Gagdi, was constituted two weeks ago following a resolution of the House during plenary presided over by Speaker Abbas.

Its assignment is to investigate how budgetary provisions amounting to about N1.32bn were made in favour of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, an agency that had not been legally established.

The probe follows the arrest of Mr Adeyemi Adeniyi, who allegedly presented himself as the Director-General of the PFIPC and is accused of orchestrating the inclusion of the agency in the 2026 budget despite its non-existence.

The controversy deepened after Adeniyi reportedly claimed that he paid N100m through proxies to Gbajabiamila to facilitate the establishment of the agency.

The allegation has been denied by both the Presidency and the Office of the Chief of Staff.

A copy of the committee’s invitation, signed by Gagdi and obtained by The PUNCH, stated that the hearing would bring together key government officials, civil society organisations, professional bodies, development partners, the media and members of the public.

It read: “The ad hoc committee to investigate the Unestablished Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council in the Federal Budget Framework hereby invites Ministries, Departments and Agencies, Civil Society Organisations, professional bodies, development partners, the media, relevant stakeholders, and members of the general public to its inauguration and public hearing.

“The following stakeholders are invited to appear before the committee:

“Honourable Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Honourable Minister of Finance, Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs.”

Others listed included the “Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Executive Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Auditor-General for the Federation and Chairman, Fiscal Responsibility Commission.”

The invitation further listed the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, the Director-General of the Department of State Services and the Inspector-General of Police among those expected to appear before the committee.

The notice also called on interested stakeholders, professional bodies, civil society organisations, relevant institutions and members of the public to submit memoranda on issues relating to the committee’s terms of reference.

The panel is expected to determine how the PFIPC found its way into the 2026 budget despite lacking legal backing.

It will also trace the budgetary provision from the executive’s proposal through legislative consideration to its eventual passage, with a view to identifying the stage at which the allocation was introduced.

However, the committee’s decision not to invite Gbajabiamila or Adeniyi has sparked concerns over its credibility.

A member of the committee, who spoke to The PUNCH on condition of anonymity, expressed disappointment over the omission, arguing that the two central figures in the controversy should have been among the first witnesses invited.

“From the notice, you will see that the two central figures are not invited. I mean Gbajabiamila and Adeyemi. There is an obvious attempt to exempt Gbajabiamila, and that is an attempt by the committee to clear him. From the notice of invitation, there is already a bias,” the lawmaker said.

Also reacting, public affairs analyst Jackson Ojo said the exclusion of the President’s Chief of Staff could undermine public confidence in the investigation.

“The committee is starting on the wrong footing. They should have invited the Chief of Staff to clear his name.

“As important as the invited government officials are to the investigation, they are not as important as Gbajabiamila.

“The man taken into custody mentioned the Chief of Staff. So, why is he not part of those to field questions from the lawmakers?” he asked.

The House had constituted the panel amid growing public concern over alleged irregularities in the 2026 budget process, particularly the allocation of over a billion naira to an agency that the government claimed does not exist.

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