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Former Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham strode through the gates of Buckingham Palace on Monday and into 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the seventh person to have held the post in the past decade. He began the day by chopping mushrooms at a homeless shelter - signaling his desire to make homelessness one of his signature issues - before meeting with the king to formally accept the premiership. Hours later, he was on the phone with US President Donald Trump, discussing the FIFA World Cup and the Hormuz Strait.

As Mayor of Manchester, Burnham established a reputation as an everyman. His speech outside No 10 continued to build on that image - no lectern, no notes, no teleprompter. And it began with a striking admission of the revolving-door nature of his job. "I am acutely conscious that I am the sixth person in the last ten years to walk up this street, the seventh prime minister since 2016," he told the nation before outlining his vision for the future.

Why that matters is because Burnham's predecessor, Keir Starmer, was widely derided for lacking vision. Burnham, just by virtue of having a plan, is already looking to be one of the best British prime ministers in a decade. With only three years to the next election and the far-right Reform Party leading in the polls, it is up to him to make sure that Britain can break out of the cycle of political turbulence in which it has been trapped since the Brexit referendum in 2016. If he fails, it will only increase cynicism among voters.

Indeed, Burnham's first step - setting out a 10-year plan - suggests he is at least hoping to win reelection, which would not only require hitting the ground running, but also successfully projecting any achievements, which is another thing that critics say the Starmer cabinet failed to do.