New PM Andy Burnham sets out first steps to reshape Britain

LONDON, July 21 - Andy Burnham will set out his first measures as Britain's new prime minister on Tuesday in an attempt to deliver on his promises to ease a cost-of-living crisis, improve lives and end a decade of political instability.

After appointing a top ministerial team which he hopes will be more agile than that of his predecessor Keir Starmer, Burnham wants to move quickly to show Britain politics can work and improve living standards after years of stagnation.

Alongside meeting his cabinet of ministers, he will also kick off a programme he believes can turn Britain around, hoping a bolder agenda can win back voters to the governing Labour Party and fight a challenge from the populist Reform UK.

"I can do something to give people some breathing space now, some help with the cost of living," he said in a speech after becoming Britain's seventh prime minister in a decade on Monday.

"And I will set out some of those measures starting tomorrow, including how we pay for them."

There is a lot at stake.

Dubbed the 'King of the North' for his dogged defence of the northwestern English area of Greater Manchester when mayor, Burnham is the most popular leader of Britain's main political parties and has overwhelming support in Labour.

But Britain's revolving door of leaders over the past decade has underlined how quickly parties can move against leaders who are not seen as delivering for voters, and Burnham will have to move quickly to stamp his authority on the government.

He wants to hit the ground running.

In his first speech as prime minister, Burnham said his first ambition was to end rough sleeping in Britain, but also that he wanted people to feel the change in government in their pockets quickly.

On Monday, he said he was finalising the details of those measures, which could include ways of capping bus fares - something Burnham did in Manchester - or possibly looking at ways to reduce energy costs.

He would not be drawn on details, but told reporters it would go some way to backing up his assertion that "I will put the care of people at the heart of everything I do".

"It won't solve everything, it won't take all of the pressure off," he told reporters. "But it just shows the direction of travel and ... about helping them out."

Markets will be listening keenly to how Burnham and his unexpected pick for finance minister, the former defence minister John Healey, plan to finance their plans, after borrowing costs rose on Monday, pushing 30-year gilt yields to a two-month high.

Some investors were unsettled by Burnham's remarks that he planned to use "any flexibility" within existing fiscal rules. REUTERS