Britain has a new prime minister, and this page has moved with the story: first the race, then the handover, and now the government itself. The "Updated" date at the top tells you how current it is. * Update — August 1, 2026: how big is the "Burnham bounce"? Real, but no landslide in waiting, according to polling professor Sir John Curtice's analysis for the BBC. Labour now averages in the mid-20s — its highest standing since the start of last year, and up from the 19% the party sat at when Keir Starmer announced he was standing down. The catch: Reform UK is only narrowly behind, and Curtice notes that part of Labour's new lead owes to Reform's own troubles over the legality of some of its funding. The bounce has come mostly from winning voters back from the Greens and Liberal Democrats. Burnham, reading the same numbers, has ruled out an early general election. Meanwhile, he and Chancellor John Healey sent ministers a joint memo telling them to stick to spending limits — the first public sign of the new government tapping the brakes on its own promises (BBC). * Update — July 30–31, 2026: the flagship policy landed. Burnham will give every mayor of an English city region a share of income tax revenue for the first time — plus the right to keep some business rates, and a faster track for tramways, roads and light rail, with the approval threshold raised from £200m to £500m. Burnham called it making good on his pledge to "bring power home" to "every postcode in the country." How big the tax share actually is stays unknown until Healey's first budget this autumn. Critics were immediate: opposition parties said the plan lacks detail, and Labour's own Perran Moon called it "discriminatory" toward places like Cornwall that will never have a mayor. In the same 48 hours, Burnham said he is considering reversing the plan to scrap some jury trials, Diane Abbott was readmitted to the Labour Party — and Bev Craig was confirmed as Burnham's successor as Greater Manchester mayor (BBC). * Update — July 20–24, 2026: the first days brought sackings, surprises and a VAT cut on energy bills announced within 24 hours. The chancellor's job went not to Ed Miliband or Shabana Mahmood, as widely tipped, but to John Healey — who five weeks earlier had quit as defence secretary in a row over military spending, and who had attacked what he called a "Treasury orthodoxy that's a dead hand on dynamic government." The other Starmer-era rebels did well too: Wes Streeting took defence, Miatta Fahnbulleh took energy, Angela Rayner returned to the cabinet, and Louise Haigh — the power broker behind Burnham's rise — became first secretary of state and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, running the Cabinet Office (BBC). * It's done (July 20, 2026): Andy Burnham is prime minister. Keir Starmer went to Buckingham Palace to formally tender his resignation to King Charles III, and Burnham followed to be asked to form a government (CNN; ABC News). He was then seen entering 10 Downing Street as PM. Burnham is the United Kingdom's seventh prime minister in ten years. * His first words as PM: speaking outside Number 10, Burnham said Britain must show "that we can regain our stability," framing his appointment as a "circuit-breaker" for the country and pledging a new political and economic model anchored in a 10-year plan (CNN). * A record mandate behind him: Burnham won the Labour leadership on July 17 running unopposed, nominated by 379 of the 403 eligible Labour MPs — 94% of the parliamentary party, the largest share in a modern Labour leadership contest, exceeding the 88% Gordon Brown received when he succeeded Tony Blair unopposed in 2007. Because Labour is in government, the party leader takes Downing Street, so no separate election was needed to make him PM. * How we got here: Keir Starmer announced his resignation as Labour leader on June 22, 2026, after months of pressure over policy U-turns and a loss of confidence among Labour MPs. Every other name seriously floated — Wes Streeting, Darren Jones, former defence minister Al Carns — ruled themselves out, several endorsing Burnham. When nominations closed on July 16, he was the only candidate to qualify, so under Labour's rules the August members' ballot was cancelled and he was elected unopposed. * What to watch next: Healey's autumn budget — the number that turns the mayors' income-tax share from a slogan into money; whether the jury-trial reversal actually happens; Burnham's promised social care fix, with Robert Jenrick already demanding it come with no tax rises attached; and whether Labour's narrow poll lead over Reform survives once the new-PM honeymoon fades.