Burnham 'has his work cut out' on Northern Ireland

Newly appointed Prime Minister Andy Burnham "has his work cut out for him" on Northern Ireland, Stormont's political parties have said.

The former mayor of Greater Manchester has become the UK's fifth prime minster in four years following the departure of Sir Keir Starmer.

Financial pressures facing Stormont's power-sharing government and ensuring political stability were among the big challenges raised by parties.

Sinn Féin called for a "change of approach" from the government, while the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) pressed for "early engagement" with the new prime minister.

Stormont departments are facing spending pressures of up to £1.6bn, according to a spending watchdog.

With no budget agreed so far, public services have been operating under contingency arrangements since the start of the financial year in April.

Talks between the Labour government and executive parties were held at Hillsborough Castle earlier this month as efforts continue to find a resolution.

Sinn Féin MP John Finucane called for a "change of approach" from the government, saying that Stormont needed a "fairer funding model".

"You can't endorse devolution and not give our executive the tools and the means to actually deliver for people," he said.

Finucane also said Burnham needed to "acknowledge and engage with the constitutional conversation that is taking place".

DUP leader Gavin Robinson said it was important Burnham understood that political stability in Northern Ireland "doesn't happen by accident".

"It's important that he gets an early indication of the need for tender attention to the political situation in Northern Ireland," the East Belfast MP added.

He said while Burnham had spoken about further devolution in England, "some of the challenges for the rest of the country apply equally to us".

Alliance Party MP Sorcha Eastwood said the new prime minister had "his work cut out for him here in Northern Ireland".

"We're still sitting without a budget, we know that we are never going to get to a stage where we have good public finances without reform of Stormont and without reform of how it actually works," she said.

"This is now his time to get the Northern Ireland parties around the table to make sure that we have sound public finances, but also that we reform this system for the future."

Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) MP Robin Swann said the House of Commons being in recess for the summer was "one of the biggest challenges" because MPs would not have a chance to scrutinise the new prime minister.

"We're not going to see that opportunity to actually question him about what he's going to do, how he's going to use the office," he said.

"How he's actually going to be different from Keir Starmer is something I think we need to see demonstrated very quickly."

Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leader Claire Hanna congratulated Burnham but said he was facing "some very major challenges".

She added: "We'll be campaigning quite intensively on reform of Stormont, on a more strategic approach to the fiscal framework, and on looking long term at Northern Ireland's constitutional future."