What to know about the key challenges Andy Burnham faces as UK prime minister

LONDON (AP) — Andy Burnham begins his first full day as U.K. prime minister on Tuesday, after entering 10 Downing Street on a wave of enthusiasm and a mountain of challenges ahead.

The pressing issues look familiar. They were the same ones his predecessor, Keir Starmer, faced: a sluggish economy, a cost-of-living crisis, overstretched public services, and foreign policy that includes wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and managing relations with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Burnham became prime minister after spending most of the past decade running Greater Manchester as mayor of a northwest England region with 3 million residents, before winning his ticket back to Parliament in a special election last month.

Leading a national government delivering services for 70 million people is a monumentally larger task with problems on a larger scale.

These are some of the main issues confronting Burnham:

Boosting the economy and decentralizing government

Domestic issues top Burnham’s agenda and he has already said he will set out his plan on Tuesday for how his government will fund an effort to lower living costs.

Burnham inherits an economy that was improving until the Iran war upended forecasts and growth is now widely predicted to slow sharply over this year while inflation rises.

Central to his policy platform is decentralizing government, funneling money to local governments and taking back some services that were privatized four decades ago.

His brand of business-friendly socialism — known as “Manchesterism” and aiming to harness private and public money to invest in areas like transportation, housing and infrastructure — could take years to put in place.

Joshi Herrmann, founder of Manchester news site The Mill, who has covered Burnham for years, said the new prime minister may be able to soften the blow for some people who are struggling.

“But if the essay question is who can get economic growth and who can remodel the economy in the post-Brexit, post-financial crash era, I’d be very surprised if the answer to that question is Andy Burnham,” Herrmann said.

Burnham won’t have much room to raise spending. In replacing Starmer, who was elected on a manifesto that ruled out increases in the government’s major tax rates, so he’s locked in unless he breaks those pledges.

Burnham said he would not rule out a wealth tax, telling Gary Lineker on the Goalhanger podcast last week that the government “might be having to ask for a little more.”

Foreign policy and striking the right tone with Trump

Burnham has little foreign policy experience, but has promised to honor commitments to NATO, support the U.K.’s nuclear deterrent, and remain a strong ally of Ukraine.

He has said he will maintain the so-called special relationship with the U.S., which could depend on how he interacts with an unpredictable Trump.

Trump initially gave Starmer glowing reviews only to sour on him for not supporting his war with Iran and repeatedly criticizing him for not opening more of the North Sea up to oil drilling.

Trump sent an encouraging sign for relations in reaction to British media reports that Burnham could support some North Sea drilling. Trump said people in Aberdeen, Scotland, were “dancing in the streets,” though he may have overstated Burnham’s drilling commitment.

Burnham has publicly criticized Trump in the past, though has said he would deal with him respectfully, as he does with others, but would also be willing to disagree.

The two leaders spoke on Monday in one of Burnham’s first calls with a foreign leader. His office said he told Trump he was committed to securing shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and ensuring the defense and security of the U.K. and its allies.

Trump has pushed NATO members to significantly boost military spending and Burnham will be under pressure to exceed the defense spending goals set out by Starmer.

The defense plan calling for a 15 billion pound ($20 billion) spending boost is much smaller than military leaders had sought and has been criticized for not being fully funded under the current budget.

It remains to be seen how far Burnham goes in restoring relations with the European Union after Brexit. Starmer’s manifesto pledged not to rejoin the EU, but he had been improving relations with Europe.

Sensitive messaging about Israel’s war with Hamas

Burnham has criticized Starmer’s approach to Israel’s war with Hamas and the devastation of Gaza.

Burnham has said the U.K. would consider further sanctions against Israelis involved in Gaza violence and illegal West Bank settlements.

The issue is a sensitive one for Labour, which was found to be tainted with antisemitism before Starmer took over, and also relies on the support of a large Muslim population.

Burnham’s comments drew a backlash from Jewish groups, but he’s also been criticized by pro-Palestinian groups for not declaring Israel’s bombardment of Gaza a genocide.

Thorny issue of migration

During his first speech as prime minister, Burnham did not mention immigration, which is a top issue for many British voters.

Like much of Europe and other wealthier nations, the U.K. has seen an influx of migrants fleeing war-torn areas, famine, climate-driven crises, political persecution and poverty.

Concerns over English Channel crossings in overcrowded inflatable boats has helped propel the anti-immigration Reform UK party to victory in recent local and regional elections that led Labour to oust Starmer as leader.

Burnham has largely said he would follow the current Labour playbook on migration, which has touted reductions in net migration from more than 900,000 in 2023 to 171,000 last year. Channel crossings are down 40% this year compared to the same time in 2025.

Burnham wants to continue reducing net migration and voted in support of a bill that aims to further cut channel crossings and direct people to safer, legal routes.

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Associated Press writers Pan Pylas and Jill Lawless contributed to this story.

Brian Melley, The Associated Press