King Charles III has formally appointed Andy Burnham as the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following the resignation of Sir Keir Starmer.

Burnham, who previously served as Mayor of Greater Manchester, accepted the King’s invitation to form a new government during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he was formally appointed Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury.

The appointment follows Burnham’s emergence as the new leader of the governing Labour Party, making him the United Kingdom’s seventh prime minister in a decade amid a period of significant political change.

Following the ceremony, Prime Minister Burnham is expected to begin forming his Cabinet and outline his government’s priorities, with a focus on economic reform, public services and addressing the cost-of-living challenges facing the country.