Andy Burnham appointed UK PM, delivers first speech at 10 Downing St

All eyes on a fleet of cars making the seven or eight minute journey from Buckingham Palace down the Mall in central London. Andy Burnham on his way to Downing Street where he goes from being an MP to the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The choreography of democracy in the UK is that of course one outgoing Prime Minister and incoming Prime Minister has to visit King Charles or whoever is the monarch at the time to tender his resignation to introduce of course the new Prime Minister to his new role. Jonah Hull is on Downing Street at the end of that journey. We'll go to Jonah shortly but following this journey you can see Andy Burnham is just at the bottom end for those who know London of Trafalgar Square just around that roundabout. King Charles the he of course a monarch in the 17th century who unfortunately lost his head during a brief period in which the United Kingdom was a republic. The monarchy restored with Charles II and it was at that point the rationale was that the British Prime Minister serves the interests of the monarch not a monarch being directly in charge of the country. He's the second Prime Minister in as many years the UK's first ever premier to successfully transition directly from a very modern role of a regional Metro Mayor of Manchester straight into 10 Downing Street. The man the British tabloids famously called the King of the North for that role as Mayor of one of the UK's largest cities. Okay let's go to Jonah Hull he's at the receiving end of that journey on Downing Street you can see crowds already gathered there. Jonah you're stood in amongst the media large numbers of people from Downing Street those that work there those that are supporting politicians that some of whom may well be in the future cabinet have gathered behind you set the scene for us if you may. We've already said goodbye to one Prime Minister we're awaiting the arrival of Well the cars at the front of the convoy have just driven in to Downing Street I'm pretty sure Burnham is not among them you'll know that he's probably still on the road and as you say behind me Downing Street absolutely bristling with anticipation and there he is in fact Andy Burnham has just stepped out of the car just behind me you're about to witness him passing behind me there a huge round of applause from the assembled guests supporters there are some council members from the north of England from Manchester members perhaps of his time as Mayor of Greater Manchester members from City Hall there there are children among the crowd Andy Burnham and his wife Marie France known as Frankie greeting them as he makes his way slowly now away for the media acknowledgement for the media there and what a tremendous moment for I'm just going to step across the picture now and let Sam continue with the vision of Andy Burnham there greeting supporters a loud round of applause arriving in Downing Street at the end of a long journey for the 56 year old its most recent iteration its most recent milestone the winning of the Makerfield by-election a month ago against a strong showing for the populist right-wing reform UK party his ability easily to defeat reform was the sign that Keir Starmer needed that added to pressure he could no longer resist that this would be the man that should lead Labour into the next election against reform UK surging in the polls and not Keir Starmer but it was a journey of course for Andy Burnham that began a long time before that 16 years ago he made his first attempt to become Labour leader defeated then in 2010 and then again in 2015 defeated as well before leaving somewhat disillusioned with Westminster politics to become the Mayor of Greater Manchester Westminster he's often derided this system of politics as being out of touch with the working class and indeed even 16 years ago was not the beginning of the journey becoming an MP in 2001 a quarter of a century then in politics in this country local and national he served as a Secretary of State under Gordon Brown that Labour administration he was a minister under Tony Blair he has top level government experience he has local level governing experience and it is his passion he has said on many occasions to devolve power away from this place this place that he now enters and back towards the regions towards local centres so that communities and towns can make decisions better for themselves rather than as has so often been the case in his view particularly during Covid large parts of the country particularly the north neglected by the powers that be down here and Andy Burnham sweeping now himself into power a large crowd here long sustained applause and we expect of course any moment once he's finished greeting all of those here that he will deliver his first speech as Prime Minister and you may notice he's about to do it there's no lectern there as is customary Andy Burnham electing instead with his trademark style much more engaging much more buttoned down than the sort of stiff stitched up starmer and his predecessors Andy Burnham now will speak freely let's listen in where I have accepted his majesty the king's invitation to form a government in doing so I am acutely conscious that I am the sixth person in the last 10 years to walk up this street the seventh Prime Minister since 2016 making this a moment for reflection and new resolution it requires my generation of politicians to raise our game and rise to the new challenge Britain needs to show the world that we can regain our stability once again and that is our challenge to make politics work to make it work better I know people at home are fed up with politics I hear you and I want to be honest with you we have not been good enough and we need to be better we will be we will make this moment a circuit breaker for Britain bringing forward the biggest changes in the last 40 years a new political model and a new economic model in the 1980s Britain took some wrong turns political power was centralised economic power privatised large parts of the country de-industrialised and they still haven't recovered many feel as though they're still in decline and they don't have the ability to turn things around and that's why we will change politics to make it more collaborative more about problem solving than point scoring and we will take power out of here and carry it into every postcode in the land so that they can do more and in doing more build a new economy where we put life's essentials back under stronger public control to make them affordable to you again re-industrialising Britain using public procurement to back British industry later this year I will bring forward a new plan for Britain a 10-year plan laying out a path from where we are now to where I believe we all want Britain to be wherever we're coming from whatever party we support but I can do something to give people some breathing space now some help with the cost of living and I will set out some of those measures starting tomorrow including how we pay for them we will help more young people into work by changing the education system and giving them more support more mental health support and we will build more council homes that is the fair and sustainable way to bring the welfare bill down to meet our fiscal rules and to honour our commitments on defence to our international partners we will help people to live well building a more preventative state investing in people's success rather than paying for failure and that work starts now I will soon go through that door behind me and issue my first instruction to end rough sleeping in our country it's about putting the right values and the right standards at the heart of government I will put the care of people at the heart of everything I do I will give this my all and I ask you all to pull with me let's build a new national sense of unity of common purpose and positivity let us make this the moment when Britain starts to believe again the moment we bring back hope thank you very much everybody and there we have a very different prime minister Andy Burnham giving his maiden speech there on Downing Street in both style and substance a break from the past none of the usual podium that past prime ministers have delivered speeches from he stood without notes he addressed the entire gathering of media and staff behind him he submitted that the Labour Party he said had not been good enough in the past we will be better he said this is a circuit breaker moment for the United Kingdom one of his key immediate promises to end rough sleeping to put people at the core of every decision he makes Jonah Hull is there live on Downing Street Jonah it's pretty clear that we're looking at a prime minister who is doing everything possible to unite a country but also to define a very new direction for a nation in both style and substance yeah I mean I think it's very striking listening to that speech his first speech as prime minister Andy Burnham there and if you remember one of the great criticisms of Keir Starmer was that one of the things he failed to do effectively partly because of his oratory style partly because of his personal style was define a vision for the country behind which the country could gather and unite Andy Burnham a kiss for his wife there a last wave from the steps of Downing Street and in he goes and his first order of business of course will be to appoint cabinet members that is hugely anticipated now who will fill the key roles of state and he will get down to work he said as soon as tomorrow announcing policies but as I say striking in that speech particularly the way he ended the speech with this vision with a sense a narrative a sense of narrative purpose because the way ahead is going to be difficult there is no question about that the obstacles ahead have not changed from those faced by the Starmer government slow growth stagnant growth huge high government debt a dysfunctional a struggling health service and very very difficult politics the needs of the country are great but but but by defining a sort of narrative vision for the country this idea of a new sense of national unity of common purpose a belief that again the country can can be great and that again we can bring back hope it's a sort of Obama-esque oratorial style isn't it but these are the sorts of issues that we've heard from uh Andy Burnham in the month of transition since the Makerfield by-election until this point soaring vibes if you like warm inclusive uh inspiring hope but shorn of detail the detail is yet to come and that he has promised will begin tomorrow the details yet to come that is a packed Downing Street Andy Burnham becoming the seventh prime minister in a decade taking in his maiden speech what he hopes will be a new direction for the nation an era of positivity we leave you with these live pictures do stay with us here on Al Jazeera see you shortly