Burnham then made the short drive back to Downing Street where he was set to make a landmark speech laying out his vision for the country.
Burnham has promised “to pass power from the authorities to ordinary people” and “to build a new politics — the country is crying out for it,” he said in a speech Friday.
“Let’s have the courage to fix the big things that politics has neglected,” he added, vowing to reverse the “wrong turns” that Britain began to take in the 1980s when “political power was centralized, and economic power was privatized.”
Abroad, he will also have to navigate his relationship with President Donald Trump.
At first, Trump dismissed Burnham as “the mayor of a town” and “extremely liberal,” but over the weekend the president lauded (and possibly overinterpreted) hints that Burnham may take a softer approach to Britain’s North Sea, where new oil and gas exploration licenses are currently halted by climate policies.
The shift would take “the United Kingdom from a Poverty Stricken Disaster to one of the Richest Countries anywhere in the world,” Trump said on Truth Social.
Starmer’s handling of Trump and foreign policy in general was seen as one of his successes. Ultimately, though, his early exit caps a remarkable fall from grace after a landslide election victory just two years ago.
“I go with a smile,” Starmer said in front of a crowd of sunglass-wearing supporters in the warm Monday morning sunshine.
Some of these addresses can be painful and emotional, but Starmer sought to project pride in his achievements, including economic growth and lower figures for net migration.
He said Burnham “has my full support,” adding that the job had been “the privilege of my life.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.