Andy Burnham becomes Prime Minister
Britain gets its seventh prime minister in ten years without a general election.
- When
- Known to
- ± 12 hours
- Era
- Contemporary, Holocene
- Where
- London, United Kingdom · 51.5034° N, 0.1276° W
Burnham won the Labour leadership on 17 July 2026 after a party crisis unseated Keir Starmer, and took office on 20 July. He had been Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017 and had to return to Parliament to do it. No other democracy has changed head of government this often this fast in peacetime, and four of the seven took office without a general election.