It’s the biggest job in British politics, and Andy Burnham has had relatively little time to prepare. After he was installed in Downing Street as prime minister on Monday, Mr. Burnham now will need to make dozens of decisions each day, resolve disputes among ministers and act as the political figurehead of the government.
He faces a long and daunting list of issues facing 21st-century Britain. Here are some of the big ones.
1. An economy in the doldrums
After years of stagnating living standards dating back to the 2008 global financial crisis and made worse by Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr. Burnham needs to introduce tangible improvements for Britons. He has vowed to stick to his party’s 2024 general election pledge not to increase the main taxes, however, and will face many of the same challenges as Keir Starmer, whom Mr. Burnham is replacing as prime minister. One key decision: who will be chancellor of the Exchequer.
2. Conflicts abroad and a fraying ‘special relationship’ with the United States
With the war in Ukraine continuing and the conflict in the Middle East escalating, foreign policy will be an unavoidable priority even if Mr. Burnham might prefer to focus on domestic issues. So far, the indications are that Britain’s stance on the two conflicts is unlikely to change significantly, given that Jonathan Powell, who played a key role as Mr. Starmer’s national security adviser, is expected to remain in his job.
Mr. Starmer cultivated close ties with President Trump before enraging him by refusing to give his full-throated support for the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran. The United States remains Britain’s most important security partner, but Mr. Trump and his policies are deeply unpopular here. So the new prime minister will have to decide how to balance those considerations and how much energy to devote to cultivating a mercurial U.S. president.