About
Andy Burnham became Prime Minister on 20 July 2026, capping one of the more unusual routes to No.10 in modern politics. He was Mayor of Greater Manchester from 2017 to 2026 — where he earned the “King of the North” tag for battles with Westminster over lockdown support and transport — before returning to the Commons via the Makerfield by-election on 18 June 2026, winning 24,937 votes to Reform UK's 15,696 after sitting MP Josh Simons stood down to free the seat.
Before Manchester he was MP for Leigh (2001–2017) and served in cabinet under Gordon Brown as Culture Secretary and then Health Secretary. He ran for the Labour leadership in 2010 and 2015, finishing behind Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn, and sits on the party's “soft left”: stronger on public services and devolution, deliberately reassuring on borrowing. His most concrete tax idea is the Fairer Share Proportional Property Tax; his early votes as an MP include backing the Immigration and Asylum Bill at Second Reading on 13 July 2026.
In office he moved first on the cost of living rather than tax reform: a VAT cut on household electricity from 1 October, funded by cancelling the Digital ID programme, and a £2 cap on single bus fares across England from January 2027. He appointed John Healey as Chancellor and Ed Miliband as Foreign Secretary, and has said he may ask people to pay "a little more" in tax at the autumn Budget.
In the news
- Andy Burnham's property tax proposals, explained
- Andy Burnham is Prime Minister: what changes for your money?
- John Healey is Chancellor: the surprise pick
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This is an independent, unofficial profile compiled from public sources — we are not affiliated with Andy Burnham or any party. Spotted an error? Tell us via the newsletter reply address.
Photo: © UK Parliament, CC BY 3.0.