EPA/ShutterstockAndy Burnham is set to announce new support to help people with the cost of living crisis as his cabinet meets for the first time.
The new prime minister vowed to provide “breathing space” for households struggling with the cost of living as he stood on the steps of No 10, pledging to set out details on Tuesday.
Late on Monday night Burnham finished making appointments to his top team, with key appointments including John Healey as chancellor and Ed Miliband as foreign secretary.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner also returned to government as housing secretary, as well as new defence secretary Wes Streeting.
In his first speech to the nation in Downing Street on Monday, Burnham said he wanted to bring forward the “biggest changes in the last 40 years” to British politics.
He outlined his intention to unveil a 10-year “new plan for Britain” later this year, explaining this would lay out a path to where he believes “we all want Britain to be”.
Burnham promised to set out some of his government’s measures to “give people some breathing space now, some help with the cost of living” on Tuesday and said he would explain how he would pay for them.
Speaking to broadcasters on Monday, Healey said the pair will “work in lockstep to meet the fiscal rules with a buffer against uncertainty” and on how they will “make life more affordable for working people right across the UK”.
Housing secretary Rayner, a role she previously held in Sir Keir’s government, will be tasked with delivering on pledges to end rough sleeping and build record numbers of council houses. She stood down in September 2025 after admitting she underpaid stamp duty on her £800,000 flat in Hove.
Yvette Cooper’s new portfolio will see her oversee the much-talked about reform of the social care system.
And the new defence secretary Wes Streeting will be under pressure to lay out a roadmap for how the UK will reach Nato’s spending targets. He resigned as health secretary in May saying he lost confidence in then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Burnham has said he wants to honour the UK’s commitments on defence spending, which will see Streeting under pressure to work out how the UK will reach Nato’s spending targets.
Shabana Mahmood remains as home secretary and Louise Haigh takes on the role of Burnham’s fixer across government, serving as first secretary of state, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and minister for the Cabinet Office.
On Monday, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch welcomed Burnham to his new role but said he has not “set out a clear plan for government”.
“Britain needs a leader who can take difficult decisions, not a people pleaser”, she said of Burnham, and criticised him for his promise to undo Margaret Thatcher’s policies.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said it was “disappointing not to hear anything from the new PM on social care, on Europe, or on protecting our precious natural environment”.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called for a general election, saying Burnham “cannot be allowed to make the ‘biggest changes in politics for 40 years’ without a mandate”.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski said now is the time for “bold politics”, adding that Monday’s speech would leave many sceptical that Burnham actually plans to challenge the “wealth and power of the establishment”.
Outside of the UK, Burnham spoke to US President Donald Trump shortly after taking office on Monday.
A Downing Street spokesperson said the prime minister told Trump about his “vision” for the UK and that ensuring the security of the UK and its allies “was at the top of his agenda”.
The pair also spoke about the Middle East and the World Cup, while Burnham also told Trump he hopes to be able to show him “what Manchester had to offer during a visit in the future”.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that it was a “very good” conversation, which saw the pair discuss “North Sea Oil, Trade, the Military Alliance, Demining of the Hormuz Strait, and many other topics”.
He went on: “The Prime Minister has got a big job ahead of him, but he will be able to do it and, of course, the U.S.A. will be there to help!”
The new prime minister also spoke to Volodymyr Zelensky, with the Ukrainian president writing on X: “I truly appreciate that the support for Ukraine and our people will remain steadfast.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she had a “very good” first discussion with Burnham”, adding: “We are both committed to bringing the EU and the UK closer and closer.”
