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What to Know about the Challenges Andy Burnham Will Face as UK Prime Minister

Andy Burnham is pictured before being confirmed as the Labour Party's new leader and the country's next prime minister, during "Labour's Special Conference" in central London on July 17, 2026. (AFP)
Andy Burnham is pictured before being confirmed as the Labour Party's new leader and the country's next prime minister, during "Labour's Special Conference" in central London on July 17, 2026. (AFP)
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What to Know about the Challenges Andy Burnham Will Face as UK Prime Minister

Andy Burnham is pictured before being confirmed as the Labour Party's new leader and the country's next prime minister, during "Labour's Special Conference" in central London on July 17, 2026. (AFP)
Andy Burnham is pictured before being confirmed as the Labour Party's new leader and the country's next prime minister, during "Labour's Special Conference" in central London on July 17, 2026. (AFP)

Andy Burnham will enter 10 Downing Street on Monday with a wave of enthusiasm behind him and a mountain of challenges ahead.

His coronation as British prime minister may be short-lived as he faces the same struggles as his predecessor in trying to temper a cost-of-living crisis, improve overstretched public services, and step into the international spotlight during major wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

He arrives after spending most of the past decade running Greater Manchester, in northwest England, before winning his ticket back to Parliament in a special election last month.

Leading a government delivering services for 70 million people will be a monumentally larger task with problems on a larger scale and facing issues foreign to a leader of a region with 3 million residents.

Here are the main issues confronting Burnham and some hints to how he may approach them:

Boosting the economy and decentralizing government

Burnham has been vague, but promised to provide details this week about how he would fund a domestic agenda to kick-start a sluggish economy, enhance services and raise living standards.

“This change today is the most significant change moment in our politics for 40 years," he said Friday as he became Labour Party leader. “It will take us to a country where life is more affordable, and all people and places are lifted from where they are now.”

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.

He has said he wants to equalize opportunities around the UK, particularly by 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 he 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.

With the uncertain state of public finances, Burnham won’t have much room to raise spending. He is replacing Prime Minister Keir 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 continue the government’s NATO commitment and support for the UK’s nuclear deterrent.

He said Britain will remain a strong booster of Ukraine and a firm United States ally.

Relations with the US could depend on how he interacts with a capricious President Donald Trump, who initially gave Starmer glowing reviews only to sour on him for not supporting his war with Iran.

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

“I like to think I’ve got some personality myself and I’ll just, you know, I’ll deal with him very upfront in the same way,” he told Lineker. "Where you disagree, do it, but do it in a way that is kind of meeting him where he’s at.”

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.

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 condemned the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel by Hamas fighters, who killed around 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage, but said the British government waited too long to call for a ceasefire.

More than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government. The ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, is staffed by medical professionals who maintain detailed records viewed as generally reliable by United Nations agencies and independent experts.

Burnham said the UK 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.

The thorny issue of migration

During his acceptance speech as Labour’s leader on Friday, Burnham did not mention immigration, which is a top issue for many voters.

Like much of Europe and other wealthier nations, the UK 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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Features

The Perfect Storm That Turbocharged Venezuela’s Twin Quakes

A view of a building destroyed by the June earthquakes; in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, 05 August 2026. (EPA)
A view of a building destroyed by the June earthquakes; in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, 05 August 2026. (EPA)
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The Perfect Storm That Turbocharged Venezuela’s Twin Quakes

A view of a building destroyed by the June earthquakes; in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, 05 August 2026. (EPA)
A view of a building destroyed by the June earthquakes; in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, 05 August 2026. (EPA)

A dangerous cocktail of tectonic positioning, loose earth and shoddy construction contributed to the unprecedented damage caused by Venezuela's twin earthquakes, experts say.

Jennire Garcia's home in the coastal Catia La Mar neighborhood was rendered unlivable by the tremors in late June, which devastated the state of La Guaira.

The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes killed over 6,300 people and sent 190 buildings crashing down, while 856 more sustained damage.

Garcia and her family are now living in tents next to the ruins, and the 42-year-old says she is "sick with stress all day long."

This was the same site as deadly mudslides that killed thousands of people in 1999.

The region's "unconsolidated" soils, where construction requires specific geotechnical studies, added to the severity of the damage, according to engineer Feliciano De Santis.

"These soils generally tend to be loose soils" and caused the ground to move with even greater intensity, said De Santis, who is president of the Venezuelan Geologists Society.

Garcia's residential complex, which was declared uninhabitable, was built after the landslide.

Deep cracks run through its yellow walls, several balconies have dislodged from the building and some high-rises have crumbled altogether.

- 'So anxious' -

Rescuers across the quake zone have not abandoned the search for victims under the rubble, and are working through the debris of buildings up to 12 stories high.

The last adjustment made to earthquake regulations for buildings was in 2019, and before that, in 1967 when a horrific 6.6 magnitude tremor struck the country.

A closer look at La Guaira's infrastructure reveals significant construction flaws, said Japanese engineer Kit Miyamoto, who is touring the state with support from Washington.

For instance, large quantities of steel "seems like it's really good," he told AFP.

"But once you get down to look at how actually the rebar (steel reinforcement) is connected to the foundation, it's not much," the engineer added.

In the early 2010s, the government of late leader Hugo Chavez built 43 flagship social housing high-rise buildings.

The quakes flattened 16 of them, crushing hundreds of residents underneath.

A recent investigation by Armando.info revealed that "contracts awarded at discretion to companies whose experience was unknown" fueled the damage.

In Caracas' worst-hit neighborhood Chacao, 68 people died while three buildings collapsed and dozens more are uninhabitable.

Most of these buildings were constructed before the 1967 earthquake, Venezuela's Engineering Order said.

"Some had been reinforced," said organization representative and engineer Felix Ojeda, adding that rubble samples taken on site can provide clues about the state of the infrastructure.

"The obvious next step," said Miyamoto, "is to take down the buildings," adding that retrofitting and strengthening buildings was also important to do as much as possible.

Public fury about the government's slow response to the quakes is widespread.

Interim leader Delcy Rodriguez -- who effectively governs under Washington's thumb since her predecessor Nicolas Maduro's ouster -- has promised to deliver around 4,000 housing units this year.

Back in Catia La Mar, Garcia pines for her former home.

"It makes me sad because I see it there every day. I think about the comforts I had and that I can't have here," she said.

"We are so anxious," she said, "waiting for an answer, and we don't have one."

Features

China Missile Test Deepens Pacific Divide Over Growing Militarization

The headquarters for the Pacific Islands Forum in Suva, Fiji, August 7, 2026. (Reuters)
The headquarters for the Pacific Islands Forum in Suva, Fiji, August 7, 2026. (Reuters)
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China Missile Test Deepens Pacific Divide Over Growing Militarization

The headquarters for the Pacific Islands Forum in Suva, Fiji, August 7, 2026. (Reuters)
The headquarters for the Pacific Islands Forum in Suva, Fiji, August 7, 2026. (Reuters)

China's test of a nuclear-capable missile last month has exposed the limits of Pacific leaders' ambition to make the region an "Ocean of Peace", free from the crossfire of major-power rivalry.

The July launch, China's first known ballistic-missile test into the Pacific since September 2024, was fired into the Pacific just hours after Fiji and Australia signed a major defense treaty, marking Fiji's first ever alliance.

More than a month after the test, Pacific Islands foreign ministers were unable to agree on a collective statement condemning Beijing's missile test, despite individual leaders expressing alarm, publicly and privately, about militarization of the region.

The test was "totally inappropriate", Papua New Guinea Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko told Reuters on the sidelines of the foreign ministers' meeting in Suva last week.

"China is a very close friend and ally to Papua New Guinea, but we feel this doesn't help at all," he said, adding that Beijing had given PNG advance notice of the launch but no details on where ‌the missile would ‌land.

At the time of the launch, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said it was ‌conducted "safely", ⁠adding: "We hope relevant ⁠countries will not over-interpret the matter."

The missile launch capped a year of more visible military activity across the Pacific, which is fiercely contested between the US and China for influence. That has included Chinese naval deployments and live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea, US-allied exercises around Guam and Hawaii, and a steady flow of warship visits linked to expanding security partnerships.

The United States, meanwhile, retains a substantial military presence across the region, including in Hawaii, Guam and the Marshall Islands.

Tuvalu permanent foreign secretary Pasuna Tuaga, who was speaking in a personal capacity, was concerned about growing militarization, not only because of the missile test but also security arrangements such as the AUKUS partnership between Australia, ⁠Britain and the United States.

UNITED, BUT DIVIDED

In September 2025, Pacific Leaders endorsed the Ocean ‌of Peace Declaration, which committed to safeguard the region, recognized the right of the ‌people to peace, and resolved to contribute to and strengthen international peace and security.

David Peebles of the Australian National University's Pacific Security College said ‌Pacific countries had long resisted having peace and security defined by outside powers and their competing Indo-Pacific strategies. The Ocean ‌of Peace initiative was an attempt to reclaim that agenda, he said.

The regional declaration inspired the defense pact signed between Australia and Fiji last month, known as the Ocean of Peace Alliance.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade did not immediately respond to a request for comment on concerns that the growing number of regional security pacts could further militarize the Pacific.

For many governments, security partnerships bring benefits: surveillance against illegal fishing, ‌disaster response, policing support and access to equipment and training. But critics fear a proliferation of bilateral arrangements could leave Pacific countries with little say over how their territory, waters and infrastructure ⁠are used.

Solomon Islands Foreign Minister ⁠Rick Houenipwela, who chaired the talks in Suva, said the region's agenda must remain "conceived by the Pacific, shaped by the Pacific and only by the Pacific."

Yet by the end of the one-day meeting, no unified statement in response to the missile test had emerged.

Kiribati and Nauru, which have deepened ties with Beijing since switching diplomatic recognition from Taiwan in 2019 and 2024 respectively, did not support the statement's wording, according to an official familiar with the discussions.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters blamed foreign influence for the failure to reach consensus, without naming a country.

The impasse illustrates the central challenge facing these small island nations which have different economic, political and security interests.

In the northern Pacific, where the US has maintained a military presence for decades, some governments want deeper security engagement with the US while others remain wary.

Fiji Foreign Minister Sakiasi Ditoka said Pacific governments faced an unavoidable tension.

Countries wanted "to be free of all these war-making paraphernalia," he said, but also recognized that some security capabilities helped keep them safe. "I believe it's maintaining that balance."

Fiji for the first time participated last month in US-led war games in the Pacific known as RIMPAC.

Pacific leaders will meet in Palau in three weeks for the Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting, where the missile test and regional unity are expected to return to the agenda.

Features

One year after Putin-Trump Summit, 'Spirit of Anchorage' Dissipated

FILE - US President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
FILE - US President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
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One year after Putin-Trump Summit, 'Spirit of Anchorage' Dissipated

FILE - US President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
FILE - US President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

In the year since Donald Trump hosted Vladimir Putin on US soil for a summit designed to broker an end to Russia's offensive on Ukraine, the diplomatic initiative has fizzled out and the conflict has escalated.

For months, Russian officials talked up the "spirit of Anchorage" -- a supposed climate of detente, renewed dialogue with Washington and a framework for finding a way out of the deadliest European conflict since World War II, said AFP.

Now there are few traces of that atmosphere. US mediation efforts are at a standstill, both Russia and Ukraine are ramping up attacks and more civilians are being killed than at any point since the first months of the war.

- 'Ending the war'-

On August 15, 2025, Trump broke with the West's policy of isolating Putin, rolling out the red carpet as the Kremlin chief stepped off his plane at the Elmendorf-Richardson air base in Alaska.

It remains unclear what was decided or discussed behind closed doors.

Russia has always maintained some kind of understanding on a peace deal was struck -- "a compromise proposal", as Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called it.

Washington has rebuffed any talk of a deal being reached.

"There was a proposal in Alaska, but there was no agreement. If there had been an agreement, we would have had an end of the war," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in June.

Moscow had hoped the summit would lay the foundations for a "lasting peace" by addressing what it calls the "root causes" of the conflict, said political analyst Sergei Markov -- designated a "foreign agent" but still close to the Russian authorities.

For years -- including right before launching its offensive in February 2022 -- Russia has called for a new overarching security deal with the United States over Europe, NATO and arms control.

The "compromise" Russia tabled in Alaska, Markov told AFP, was to limit its territorial claims on Ukraine to the eastern Donbas region in exchange for recognition of Russia's new borders by Washington and the lifting of sanctions.

- Disenchantment -

Those Russian demands were included in a 28-point document drafted by the United States -- later cut down to 19 -- after separate negotiations with Kyiv and Moscow.

The document was never published officially and never came to fruition.

US-brokered direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in early 2026 broke down, chiefly over the issue of territory.

Ukraine refuses to cede land it still controls and wants an immediate ceasefire along the current front line, with territorial status to be decided during fuller peace talks.

And since late February, Washington's attention has been consumed by the war on Iran.

Trump has since issued fresh sanctions on Russia and the last remaining nuclear arms control agreement -- New Start -- has been allowed to lapse.

Having once sensed a window of opportunity to press its demands and been at pains to praise Trump's efforts, Russia has lately allowed itself to publicly question Washington's commitment to diplomacy.

"I don't even want to imagine that Alaska ... was conceived to gain time in order to strengthen Ukraine militarily," Lavrov said in June.

A meeting between Lavrov and Rubio in Manila in July -- their first since September 2025 -- lasted only around 30 minutes.

"We'll have to find new suggestions and new ideas" that both "Russia and Ukraine can agree to," Rubio said after that meeting.

"That's going to require a lot of work," he added.

- Escalation -

The two sides' conditions for peace are irreconcilable.

Russia demands territory alongside political and military concessions that Ukraine rejects as capitulation.

At the same time, both are convinced force can improve their negotiating position.

"The Russian armed forces will continue their mission to liberate the Donbas and Novorossiya in line with the approved plan," Russia's army chief Valery Gerasimov told Putin in a televised meeting in early July -- referring to land stretching across eastern and southern Ukraine.

Buoyed by European support, Kyiv is banking on its long-range strike campaign to tip Russia's economy and society over the edge.

Its attacks triggered a nationwide fuel crisis over the summer, and have forced Moscow-installed authorities to put the annexed Crimean peninsula under a local "state of emergency".

Russia has upped its missile attacks on Kyiv, killing dozens there in recent weeks.

It has also brought Ukrainian exports through the Black Sea to a standstill through a campaign of port and ship strikes.

"The spirit of Anchorage has dissipated," said Russian political analyst Fyodor Lukyanov -- close to the ruling elite -- in August.

The result? "Brutal escalation."