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CNN International: King Charles "Graciously" Accepts Starmer's Resignation As PM; Burnham Meets With King, To Enter Downing Street; Andy Burnham Becomes UK's New Prime Minister. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired July 20, 2026 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMECIAL BREAK)

[07:00:33]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. Welcome to our special coverage at the moment Andy Burnham becomes the new U.K. Prime Minister. It's about to happen.

I'm Max Foster. I'm outside Downing Street and we're about to meet the new Prime Minister. Effectively, he's going to be meeting the King at Buckingham Palace. He's already met Keir Starmer and Keir Starmer recommended to the King that he should accept his resignation.

That's kind of how it works. And the King accepted the resignation. So we do have an image of that. We'll be able to show you in just a moment. And then we will have a similar picture coming up with Andy Burnham meeting the King. And the King will invite Andy Burnham to form a new government.

Again, it will just be a still image because these moments with the King are very private. They're meant to stay secret at the very -- the whole point of that really, is that they can speak freely with each other and the King can take the monarch's advice.

Some Prime Ministers that really like advice from the monarch, Margaret Thatcher, for example, others appreciate that Charles has met a few leaders and may actually have some quite helpful advice.

So Burnham is set to make his first statement as Prime Minister in about an hour here in Downing Street. He will be the UK's seventh prime minister in just over a decade, replacing Keir Starmer, of course. And I think probably what's interesting, Anna, is you can look at all the statistics around this.

I think four Prime Ministers, no, five prime ministers in four years, is probably the more interesting one because it's been more cataclysmic as we've moved through.

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Which means Keir Starmer being there for just over two years is. It's really a lifetime in this sort of version of politics that we've had. FOSTER: Yes.

STEWART: But two years wasn't enough time to really implement all the policies that Keir Starmer would have liked to --

FOSTER: Yes.

STEWART: -- not least because he didn't have the support of so many of his employees. How long will Andy Burnham have? Potentially, what, three years until they have to call an election. But it'll be very interesting to see whether equals one soon.

FOSTER: Well, it's a sign of times, isn't it that one of the main betting companies is offering odds on how long Andy Burnham will stay Prime Minister before he's even Prime Minister. But actually, you know, it's understandable considering the last decade.

SAM FRANCIS, LONDON PLAYBOOK AUTHOR, POLITICO: Yes, I mean, there's, yes, there's a sense amongst the Labour MPs that they only really get one roll of the dice at this. They saw what happened with the sort of change up from Boris Johnson. mistrust Rishi Sunak. And how badly that damaged the Tory brand in a way that they still haven't fully recovered from.

So I think the Labour MPs that I speak to at least understand that probably shouldn't kick out before the next election.

FOSTER: Yes.

FRANCIS: I think the bigger question as well is, or the live question is that does he call a general election? He's probably never going to be more popular than he is right now. No one gets more popular in office. We've had some polling done for POLITICO that says the appetite amongst the public is that they think he should get his own mandate. But do you trade a 160 seat majority for who knows what happens in the five?

FOSTER: Let's just hear briefly though, from the outgoing Prime Minister. He spoke in the last hour or so.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR STARMER, THEN-BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: For all the focus on individuals, politics will always be a team sport. And the changes we've delivered for our country and our party belong to everyone who has fought for them. I thank them again today and I thank the British people for the opportunity to serve. I go with good grace, I go with a smile and I go proud of everything that we have achieved. Thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: OK. We're currently waiting for confirmation that Andy Burnham has gone into the Palace. He will now be living a very different lifestyle. He'll have a press -- I keep saying presidential car, Prime Ministerial car, a ministerial car, a convoy, the security. You know, he's this down to earth everyday guy in many ways and that's certainly been his brand. And OK, we can confirm that we've got the -- here we are, the Burnham's convoy arriving.

He's actually got the convoy before he's even Prime Minister, which is a very generous Keir Starmer.

[07:05:00]

STEWART: At least he's early.

FOSTER: Yes. So he's being protected at leadership level before his leader, but of course it's appropriate. But he'll now go in, effectively having his first audience with King Charles.

And Anna, as you say, this will be a weekly occurrence. They're both personable people, they'll enjoy those conversations. I'm sort of -- and there we have the King's private secretary welcoming Andy Burnham and his wife. And one of the equerries there and they'll be escorted up to the King's office. So this is the back of the palace. Looks slightly different.

STEWART: This is what happens when you arrive, Max.

FOSTER: No.

STEWART: In Buckingham Palace.

FOSTER: No. I get snuck in through the basement and then, I mean, a big moment as well for the King, wouldn't you say? You know, this is the guy I've got to work with, I've got to appoint this guy, I've got to represent this guy. Every foreign tour I do will be on, on his advice. So it'll be interesting conversation for him as well.

STEWART: It will. And we know that King Charles will keep things, I'm sure, as in the past, very neutral. But before he became King, we always wondered how political King Charles might become because he had clear thoughts on things like the environment and climate and what he thought Prime Minister should do before when he was Prince of Wales. So I'm sure he will enjoy those conversations week to week.

FOSTER: Yes.

STEWART: I would love to know what they discuss --

FOSTER: Yes.

STEWART: -- but we probably never will. But this will be a nice conversation. As we know, Andy Burnham has a very easy going manner. He is light of touch, he is fun, he's got gift of the gab. He will excel in conversations like this. And that's one of the things people like most about him, that you can --

FOSTER: Yes.

STEWART: -- throw him into any situation and he's got off the cuff remarks. He was already very funny in Parliament, wasn't he? In the House of Commons, someone said, here comes the Messiah. And he immediately quipped, naughty boy. And it drew a huge laugh. So, you know, this is the guy that you want to sit with at dinner party.

FOSTER: Yes. When he took his oath as Member of Parliament, I was quite struck by how he threw himself into that oath of allegiance to the King and the monarch. Because there are other versions of the oath you can do, isn't there? And he chose to do that.

So that's quite a symbolic message that he supports the system. He's not, you know, a lot of people on the left might be Republicans, some Prime Ministers have been Republican, but he's, you know, he's accepting that the monarch is the monarch. I work for him. And that's going to set the tone probably for his Prime Ministership.

FRANCIS: It's not his first oath. He was MP back in 2001.

FOSTER: Yes.

FRANCIS: He's done it before and he's made a lot of his kind of, you know, faith in football kind of upbringing in between Manchester and Liverpool where he's sort of been this -- he's ridden the two horses between Liverpool and Manchester and kind of got his identity from those two big cities where he is, you know, the working class boy who's now risen to the highest office.

And I think there's amongst that kind of the crowd there's still real support for the monarch. And he said in an interview with the Sunday Times quite recently that his mum would never forgive him if he didn't sort of do the proper oath of allegiance and do the job properly.

FOSTER: Yes.

FRANCIS: So yes, it's -- while there have been some previous MPs and leaders that have had a problem with it, I think it comes quite naturally to Andy Burnham.

FOSTER: Yes. So there'll be this kissing of hand ceremony. I think back in the day you would have to keep kiss the monarch's hand.

STEWART: I think it was the ring, wasn't it?

FOSTER: Yes. And I don't think Charles expects that anymore.

STEWART: He doesn't. I think it might be quite strange in this day and age.

FOSTER: Yes. But I mean it's an interesting question about how involved you allow the palace to be. There's always tension between number 10 and Buckingham Palace and they often disagree on things. I mean we were learning about that recently with the, with the Windsor Agreement, didn't we? Where the King didn't want the Windsor Agreement around Brexit to be signed at Windsor Castle because he didn't want it. He thought it was too political because they've got this long term view and Downing Street of course getting more short termists all the time. STEWART: And Downing Street keeps having new staff --

FOSTER: Yes.

STEWART: -- so it'll be a whole new relationship all over again.

FOSTER: Yes.

STEWART: And that must be quite hard to forge --

FOSTER: Yes.

STEWART: -- and quite frustrating one would imagine for the palace given they have the continuity and they know how things work best. But this is a relationship that they have to rework every few years or even less time than that.

FOSTER: Yes. So the next -- the first thing we'll expect to see is a picture from the palace of Andy Burnham being appointed as Prime Minister by the King. The King effectively appoints the Prime Minister who then forms a government. So Andy Burnham will then have to come back here to Downing Street to start putting together his government. Those top cabinet positions.

Sam, just take us through the complications of the door behind us, number 11, where the Chancellor sits.

FRANCIS: Well, I mean, it's the prime minister Chancellor is one of their key appointments, that kind of they do everything in lockstep. And the Treasury is probably the most powerful, most important department in the -- in Whitehall. All of the spending decisions go through there, whereas in other countries, you may split up kind of the spending and the accounting sides of it.

[07:10:06]

It all runs through the Treasury in the UK. And so who he picks and what he -- and what they do together is really going to set the tone next few years.

FOSTER: A broader issue about does he take a left wing. He's talking about unified party.

FRANCIS: Yes.

FOSTER: So senior jobs needs to go to the left wing of the party and the right wing of the party. And that's really where the tension's been, isn't it, on that role?

FRANCIS: I mean, it's -- yes, it's probably the key role. And he's managed to unify all different wings of the party in supporting him, as you can see by the number of MPs that supported him. You've got the socialist campaign group, you've got Tribune --

FOSTER: Yes/

FRANCIS: -- you've got the blue Labour side of party. Yes.

FOSTER: Firmly right of the party.

FRANCIS: Yes.

FOSTER: That's going to upset the left.

FRANCIS: I mean, potentially depends what she ends up saying. I think no matter who he appoints into the key roles, you're going to start upsetting people. He's never going to be more popular than he is now. So we do expect Mahmoud, but we wait and see.

FOSTER: We are waiting, Anna, to get a Prime minister. This whilst you've been standing here, you've been leaderless. But that's the system, right?

STEWART: I have been leaderless, Max. I've had you to lead me through this last couple of hours looking for.

FOSTER: Well, keep looking for Larry the Cat, I think I always --

STEWART: I mean, I'm always looking over Max's shoulder looking for Larry the Cat. And he did actually emerge and he was sort of waiting, I think --

FOSTER: Yes.

STEWART: -- slightly down Downing Street for Andy Burnham. But he's given up. It's taking too long.

FOSTER: You could say seven prime ministers over about 10 years. You could say Larry's had 10 different owners over about 10 years.

STEWART: Or --

FOSTER: And that's, you know --

STEWART: Larry has had seven different tenants.

FOSTER: Tenants. All right, we'll be back. Larry's about to meet his new owner. We're going to bring it to you live on CNN.

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[07:15:32]

FOSTER: Welcome back to Downing Street. King Charles is about to invite the incoming Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, to form a new government and make him a Prime minister. We'll soon start finding out what sort of government the former Greater Manchester mayor will actually look like, because he'll be announcing cabinet positions soon after he arrives back here in Downing Street.

He'll make his first statement as Prime Minister. Right behind me, we'll have a look at that. There's an interesting bit of conversation going on right now because the podium that Keir Starmer used is not out. So they're waiting to hear here in Downing Street which podium lectern, rather, that Andy Burnham will be using, or whether or not he'll be using a lectern at all.

I think that is interesting because it really speaks to the sort of optics that Andy Burnham wants around him. He's informal, he's approachable, he wants to speak to the people. He may feel a big wooden lectern is not really chiming with his overall messaging, but this is one of the small sort of opening statements he'll make.

He'll be firing and hiring members of his government in the afternoon. Giles Wilkes is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government. He was special advisor to Theresa May, covering industrial and economic policy. He joins me now.

Obviously, you knew Charles, you know, Theresa May very well. Just describe what this moment must be like for an incoming Prime Minister.

GILES WILKES, SENIOR FELLOW, INSTITUTE OF GOVERNMENT: Well, I mean, just to clarify quickly, I was hired slowly, so it took me a few months to have my approval in, so I didn't get that wonderful historical moment. But, yes, it is a really big opportunity for the Prime Minister to present themselves to the public for the first time, because although insiders like us are already very familiar with the idea that Andy Burnham is the Prime Minister and he's coming in, a lot of the voters are going to be experiencing the thought for the very first time. So these first impressions are incredibly important.

FOSTER: What about this? I mean, I know it might sound so superficial, but I think it is superficial. The idea that he might not be using a lectern for his first speech. Or even just a much scaled back lectern, if you like, is that, you know, what does that say? What's he trying to say with that?

WILKES: Well, I think one of the, I mean, one of the things that Andy Burnham is part of Andy Burnham's brand, I would say, is this sort of informality, this ability to sort of get on with people, sort of be able to improvise in the moment. So if we are about to see Andy Burnham without the lectern and just talking to people like an ordinary person talking to other ordinary people, maybe this is the -- he's trying to create that first impression that he's somebody who just talk off the cuff, talking human language to ordinary people rather than down from on high, as the lectern can imply.

But I guess we've got to wait and see. But that's certainly the impression I got from his first speech that he did a couple of weeks ago where -- which reportedly he wrote every word of it himself. And it comes across as sort of speaking in English rather than, you know, sort of declaiming from on high like a professor.

FOSTER: But he, you know, that sort of every man approach does work, doesn't it, as an MP or even mayor of Manchester, as it were --

WILKES: Yes.

FOSTER: -- that we -- isn't there a risk that if you, you know, you do want a bit of mystique, you know, a bit of mystique about what goes on behind Number 10 and a bit of mystique about who this man is and some authority, because in a moment of crisis you want that authority, perhaps you do want the man behind the lectern. And I just wonder if there's -- there's a risk he's making that.

WILKES: Well, I think some people are able to pull it off. I mean, I remember the early times with Blair. Blair could come across as quite kind of blokish. The early images of him, like being able to do head of competitions with Kevin Keegan. I remember him going to a European Ministers conference and racing everybody on a bike. He came across as like a guy in his shirt sleeves. And yet he could also do the big occasions like the speeches after 9/11, talking about how the world has changed.

So it is possible to have more than one register. You just want. You just want to give the impression to the voters that you're somebody who is obviously in command of the job, is on your side, is somebody you can relate to, but I guess has that extra gear. So, I wouldn't rule out --

FOSTER: Yes.

WILKES: -- being approachable. I mean, being good at conversation doesn't mean you can do the serious stuff, too.

FOSTER: We've just had confirmation from the palace that His Majesty has received his audience with Andy Burnham.

[07:20:00]

MP requested him to form a new administration. Burnham accepted the King's offer and kissed hands upon appointment as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury. They don't actually kiss hands, I don't think, but that's basically an acceptance that he will be Prime Minister. So we can now say that Andy Burnham is Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. We won't ever find out, Giles, will we, about the rest of that chap?

WILKES: No, they are very discreet about what they say. You don't even get a hint in some of the memoirs that come out many decades later. But that is indeed a historic moment. We now have a new Prime Minister and one that, I mean, I personally hope lasts for a few more years.

I know we're not meant to express preferences here, but goodness, I could do without having a general election in the next few months. Yes, but that's -- that's a fantastic moment. A new Prime Minister, no doubt heading back towards you now, Max, is he?

FOSTER: OK. We're sticking with these images of Buckingham palace, which we're expecting the new Prime Minister to leave and return here to Downing Street.

Can I ask you, Giles, about foreign policy? I know it's an impossible question because we don't know anything about Burnham's foreign policy, but there have been some indications, right?

WILKES: Yes. FOSTER: He said he's going to stick to the manifesto and he would have had conversations, wouldn't he, with other leaders, foreign policy advisers in the few weeks leading up to this moment, so -- and we haven't heard anything that massively differs from Starmer's foreign policy.

WILKES: Yes. And in the case of foreign policy as opposed to domestic policy, he does follow quite a difficult act, although it got rocky towards the last few months for Keir Starmer, particularly after the whole debacle of Peter Mandelson's appointment unraveled.

Keir Starmer was regarded as having a very sure footed way in foreign policy, particularly handling the difficulty around the tensions in Ukraine and the Trump White House. And as you say, Andy Burnham has had no practice at this at all, as far as I can think.

The various government roles he's had before, apart from Mayor of Manchester, you know, he was the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, he was in the Health Department, he might have been in the Home Affairs area. He's never really had that international exposure.

So, he has big decisions to make in that regard. I guess the really big ones are with the two most important trading blocks, the U.S. and Europe. I mean, how much does he try to repair relations with Europe where Starmer was making really good progress. And how does he keep that kind of cautious distance while friendly relations with the Trump White House? Given, you know, Labour voters are not massive fans of Donald Trump, but they like to see British Prime Minister stick up for themselves in that quarter.

So, yes, he's got quite, you know, he's got a difficult inbox there.

FOSTER: It's interesting. I just briefly -- they have calls certainly with other world leaders in the afternoon normally, and then it'll be interesting who the first call is with. Right.

WILKES: Yes.

FOSTER: It could be with Ursula von der Leyen, it could be with President Trump. That might be telling in itself.

WILKES: Yes, that's going to be really interesting. You'd hope that there isn't some sort of misplaced pride on either side of the pond about that. You know --

FOSTER: Yes.

WILKES: -- not too much symbolism. After all, not everyone can be the first call. But I'll be particularly curious, of course, how he gets on with Trump. Partly because Trump does seem to have a real fondness for like charismatic other leaders, be they men or women, like Zohran Mamdani or Giorgia Meloni.

FOSTER: Yes.

WILKES: When he takes a liking to them. It doesn't really matter if their politics is the same of his or not. He kind of likes that rapport. And Burnham is, you know, well known for being charming.

FOSTER: Yes.

WILKES: He might surprise us all and, you know, charm the U.S. President and get off on a really good footing there.

FOSTER: We are about to find out. He is the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It's just been confirmed. Keir Starmer's Labour Party won in a landslide victory two years ago. It was a public mandate. Burnham does not have that, but he handed over to Andy Burnham after months of controversy and increasing public frustration, particularly within his own party. Actually, Nic Robertson has more. Looking back on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARMER: This is the end of my political journey.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Keir Starmer's last moments in Parliament.

STARMER: I will give my whole hearted support to my successor.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): A rather British end to a bruising battle to hold on to his job.

STARMER: To my wife and children, I love you. Goodbye.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): The irony, he rarely got as much applause as Prime Minister.

ANDY BURNHAM, NEW BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I see this as a last chance to change, particularly for the Labour Party.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): His replacement, the charismatic northerner, former Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, arrives pumped from electoral success. His mayor to Prime Minister metamorphosis is a work in progress.

BURNHAM: I am going to do things differently.

[07:25:04]

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Still wearing the T-shirt he calls his Manchester uniform. Yet in the months since his local election victory, allowing him to oust Starmer is offered little detail on his plans other than opening a Number 10 office in Manchester and pushing power from London to regional mayors.

BURNHAM: Place first, not party first. Problem solving, not point scoring. Long term, not short term.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Before any of that though, the problem his party expects him to fix, the rise of populist right-wing reform under Nigel Farage. Burnham rolled back Reform's gains in his recent victory. But Farage, facing allegations he denies of failing to disclose financial donations, seems to be laying a trap for Burnham, another test of popularity.

NIGEL FARAGE, REFORM U.K. LEADER: I've decided that the people of Clapton should be the judges of my actions. This will be a people versus the establishment by election.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): All parties are treating Farage's reelection as a political stunt. Only the satirical candidate Count Binface will run against him.

On foreign policy, where the U.K. faces the most consequential challenges, Burnham has offered only a few clues, significantly saying he's not afraid to disagree with President Trump.

BURNHAM: I'll just meet him where he's at. It's about respecting the office, the relationship, the U.K.-U.S. relationship, but you know, where you disagree, do it, but do it in a way that is kind of meeting him where he's at.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): On the Mideast too, hinting at diverging from, from U.S. alignment.

BURNHAM: I know many people feel that at the start of Israel's military action in Gaza, my party didn't get it right and I am sorry about that.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): With wars impacting allies in the Mid Eastern Europe and the UK's defense budget facing a more than $6.3 billion hole, Burnham's domestic agenda of change will struggle for his undivided attention.

In his last days in office, Starmer still trying to that balance work. His third overseas trip in nine days. NATO in Ankara, Paris for the coalition of the willing and his last one as Prime Minister to Kyiv. A farewell to President Zelenskyy and the problems of high office. Nick Robertson, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Britain has its fifth Prime Minister in four years. We'll be able to show you an image of him at Buckingham Palace being appointed. There is Andy Burnham, just a few moments ago, meeting the King. The King asked him to form a government. The new Prime Minister agreed to form a government, which means he is now Prime Minister, completely unelected.

Ironic perhaps that he's in the palace because people have called him the King of the North. Andy Burnham. And this is a coronation for Andy Burnham. Because he didn't go through any sort of electoral process to end up in that position. If we can show you the outside of 10 Downing Street, you can see the new setup. Ready to welcome the new Prime Minister in.

I think if we can actually show. If I point it out to you. But you'll notice there's no podium. This is the most -- I keep saying podium. It's not a podium. It's a lectern. Normally you have a Prime Minister standing behind the lectern giving his first speech. But there isn't going to be one. Which I think is the first time we've had that. Anna, isn't it? And it's pretty symbolic about what he wants to represent.

STEWART: We talk about elections a bizarre amount with a transition of prime ministers simply because different prime ministers have chosen to have different lecterns made of different words and so on. Fascinating that this Prime Minister is having no lectern, which in a way is not very useful because you do have to have something with microphones for them to speak to.

FOSTER: Yes.

STEWART: So actually by choosing not to have a lectern he's almost complicated the issue. There is now a microphone sand.

FOSTER: Yes.

STEWART: With microphones coming out of it. But clearly this is a message. He wants to be relaxed barrier.

FOSTER: Because of barrier, doesn't it? And it's superior. And it's I'm leader. But sometimes people want that from their leaders.

STEWART: I mean, Liz Truss, for instance, had a very special election that apparently cost a lot of money and was very modern and looked like a kind of a Jenga column. This is clearly a Prime Minister saying, I am not going to waste money on election and I'm going to be a man of the people. I don't want to have any barrier between me and them.

FOSTER: Sam from Politico's here. Is this the new team?

FRANCIS: This looks like the sort of the permanent Downing Street team.

[07:30:00]

I'm looking out to see if there's anyone I recognize. The next part of the process is after Vernon does his speech. He's clapped in by the kind of the permanent staff.