LONDON, July 21 — The shift is under way at the top of British politics. Andy Burnham has taken over as leader of the Labour Party in July 2026, replacing Keir Starmer after his resignation on 22 June. It is the end of one era and the beginning of another for a party that has spent the last two years in government following a 2024 general election.
Starmer was elected Labour leader in 2020, succeeding Jeremy Corbyn, and became Prime Minister after the 2024 general election. His resignation in June 2026 after just over two years in office marks a shorter-than-expected stint.
The party’s new chief, Andy Burnham, now holds the reins. Watch this space: the internal dynamics at Labour’s annual conference this autumn will be the first real test of Burnham’s grip on the coalition of democratic socialists, social democrats and trade unionists that makes up the party.
A century of reinvention
Founded in 1900 out of the trade union movement and 19th-century socialist parties, Labour first formed a minority government under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924. It became the largest party in 1929. In 1931 MacDonald formed a coalition with the Conservatives and Liberals, and was expelled from the party.
Labour was reduced to 52 seats at the next election, before recovering in 1935. After serving in a wartime coalition, Labour won a majority in 1945 under Clement Attlee.
That government enacted nationalisation and founded the National Health Service and the welfare state. Labour lost power in 1951. It governed again under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan.
The trend underneath the 1970s was internal division, culminating in the defeat of the party’s left wing by the mid-1980s. Successive electoral defeats followed in 1987 and 1992.
New Labour and the return to power
Tony Blair then moved the party to the centre under the “New Labour” brand, governing from 1997 to 2007. Gordon Brown succeeded him from 2007 to 2010. After defeats in the 2010s, the party shifted again: Starmer replaced Jeremy Corbyn as leader in 2020 and pulled Labour toward the centre, a move that delivered the 2024 general election.
The trend underneath that victory was a broad coalition built on pragmatic rather than ideological appeals—a strategy Burnham now inherits. The party structure includes semi-autonomous branches in London, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The annual conference each autumn remains the key moment when delegates vote on policy; the next one will be the first under Burnham’s leadership.
What’s next
With a new leader in place just a month after Starmer’s resignation, the question is whether Burnham will maintain the centre-left course that won the 2024 general election or steer toward a distinct agenda. The source material does not detail Burnham’s policy platform, so the trend underneath this transition is still taking shape. What is clear: the party that has governed since 2024 is now led by a different figure, and the shift is happening fast.
Watch this space for the autumn conference—and for the signals Burnham sends in the weeks ahead.
