Burnham says he will give people back "control over their destinies" and will do so with confidence.

He says this is backed by a decade of personal experience turning around one of the UK's "former industrial heartlands" into the fastest growing city region in country.

Burnham is met with jeers from MPs as he says this but continues, adding his time as Greater Manchester mayor has "given me a theory of growth" which he will apply to all parts of the UK.

He says he understands the concerns over the potential emergence of a "two tier" England and has asked No 10 North to begin work with Cornwall council and its MPs on a devolution deal with or without an elected mayor.

Burnham continues by saying he has extended the offer to all parts of England without devolved power and to the First Ministers of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

They pointed out they each had a "different situation" but expressed interest in what a local model of devolution would look like, he adds.

Image source, UK Parliament

Burnham now lays out what he says has gone wrong in the country.

From the 1980s, he says, the country took a series of "wrong turns", political power was centralised, economic power privatised, the country de-industrialised - and Brexit compounded the damage, "ushering in a decade of low growth", he adds.

"Change begins with honesty", he says, and to change things around people need to be "blunt".

He targets the water industry saying it is a "leaking monument" to the governing approach of "a country run in the private rather than public interest".

"The government I lead will be relentless in giving people and places what they were promised 10 years ago, ownership and control," he adds.

Burnham says his approach is "politics done differently, problem solving over point scoring", to jeers from MPs on the opposition benches.

He says this is "what the country needs, what the public want more of", adding that it will "characterise my time in office".

The economy and cost of living are the biggest issues facing the country, Burnham says, adding people are looking for "much more substantial change".

He says Britain is not "where any of us would wish it to be" and that "things are not working as they should".

This is why, he says, one of his government's first moves was to cut VAT on electricity bills, business rates on pubs, clubs and music venues, as well as capping bus fares.

Burnham adds these measures will provide "some relief" but says the long-term will require "much more".

The prime minister now turns to the pressure on prison places, saying it's one of the first things he reviewed when taking office.

Burnham says after hearing the calls from the family of PC Andrew Harper and others, the government took the "early decision" to exclude rape, grooming and serious child sex offences from the early release scheme.

Burnham adds he can confirm anyone convicted of manslaughter, death by dangerous driving or indecent assault will now not see any change to their prison term.

The PM says the government will find more prison places by deporting more foreign national offenders and through its policy on indefinite sentences.

"None of this is easy," he says, but he believes the public will support him in recognising the clear difference of those who have "served their time" and "those who have not".

We can balance "public safety and basic fairness", Burnham says.

Image source, UK Parliament

Burnham continues, and says he will build on the work of his predecessor in other areas and mentions a trip to Dover in early August, when he met with staff from the border force and coast guard.

The PM says he was told that extra police on French beaches is now beginning to deliver "real results".

He adds that the numbers of people crossing the Channel over the summer halved compared to last year, making this year to date the lowest for crossings since 2021.

Moving on to his meeting tomorrow with the French President Emmanuel Macron, Burnham says he will thank him for his co-operation in preventing small boat crossings.

Image source, House of Commons

Burnham now moves on to discussing public safety.

He expresses his "deepest condolences" to the families, friends and colleagues of PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough, who were killed in a car crash on the A66 near Middlesbrough last month.

The PM says he will do his best to support the community "which is hurting and grieving right now", and adds that he hears the calls for investment in the police.

Next, the prime minister pays tribute to the victims of the deadly flash floods in Nepal and Tibet.

"This is what the climate crisis looks like," he says, adding that the UK has experienced "what is likely to have been the hottest summer on record".

"This government will meet the climate challenge," Burnham says, adding that he will attend COP31 in Turkey in November.

Andy Burnham starts by giving a statement on the direction he says he "will lead our country".

The prime minister says he has visited each nation of the UK over the last six weeks, as well as Ukraine.

He then pays tribute to Keir Starmer, his predecessor, saying he has "given this country a lifetime of public service".

The PM says Starmer's stance on Ukraine is "one which I will not change, whatever the threats we face".

"We do not seek escalation, but will instead stand firm in providing what help we can to enable Ukraine to defend itself," he adds.

The prime minister is up on his feet and has started speaking in the House of Commons.

We will bring you all the key lines, and you can watch live at the top of the page.

Image source, House of Commons

Following the news that the rate for a 10-year loan to the British government soared to its highest level since 2008, we've been hearing about why it might be trickier for governments to borrow money.

Karen Ward, chief market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management, tells BBC Radio 4's World at One programme there are "lots of people, lots of governments, lots of countries wanting to spend".

It means the market's getting a lot more choice over who they lend to and the interest rates, she says.

"We are trying to compete with governments all over the world for global savings, and investors want to know the government has a clear plan for exactly how it’s going to spend that money, and how those investors are going to get repaid."

The "bond markets" are often spoken about as if they’re some sort of a "Bond villain" but, Ward says, two thirds of our debt is held by the British public - pensions being one example.

"The value of the national debt really matters to us as well, so we’re all in it together."

Earlier this afternoon, the PM's official spokesman said that Andy Burnham and Chancellor John Healey are "in lockstep" about the idea that "the government will meet the fiscal rules".

But what are the 'fiscal rules', and what do they mean for the economy?

The government's two fiscal rules are currently that by 2029/30:

• That day-to-day spending should be covered by money raised from taxes, and therefore borrowing should only be used for investment
• The government's net financial debt should be falling as a proportion of GDP

'Net financial debt' in the government's terms is actually a measure known as the public sector net financial liabilities, or 'PSNFL'.

According to a House of Commons Library paper, external, citing the Office for National Statistics, PSNFL was equivalent to 83.7% of GDP at the end of July 2026. In July 2025, it had been 83.1%.

The ONS says that the PSNFL figure was estimated at£2.65tn at the end of July 2026., external

Image source, Reuters

Image source, PA Media

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has just been seen leaving No 10, where he earlier hosted a cabinet meeting.

He's due to make a statement to MPs - his first in Parliament since becoming prime minister.

Image source, House of Commons

Nigel Farage has been sworn in as the MP for Clacton following his by-election victory last month.

The Reform UK leader takes the oath, with some laughs and murmurs from MPs in the House of Commons. He then walks over for a brief chat with Speaker Lindsay Hoyle.

As a reminder, Farage resigned as an MP in July after facing intense scrutiny over financial support he has received - triggering a by-election. He won that election with 63.34% of the vote.

Image source, Parliament

MPs have taken their seats in the Commons chamber following their return to Parliament after the six-week summer recess.

First up is foreign minister Stephen Doughty, who will be taking questions.

We'll be bringing you coverage later this afternoon as Andy Burnham addresses the Commons and takes questions from MPs for the first time as prime minister.

Andy Burnham became PM on 20 July, when MPs had already left Westminster for the summer recess.

Today will be the first time we see him in Parliament as prime minister, and we've already seen him this morning while out for a run, but here are some of the other places he has been since he entered No 10:

Image source, Jeremy Selwyn

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, Reuters

Image source, PA Media

During their meeting earlier, Andy Burnham thanked his cabinet colleagues for "establishing a strong sense of momentum in his first weeks in office".

No 10 says Burnham told his cabinet that the country had "noticed a change of pace" with the government "setting the agenda" and through "starting the process of giving local areas the levers they need to create good growth".

The PM also said that during his "summer tour" - when he travelled across the country in August - it was "clear that life was hard for many people, that they wanted to have hope and hear a positive outlook for the country".

His spokesman added that the prime minister also thanked Justice Secretary Alex Norris for his work on the early prisoner release scheme, and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood for her work on small boat crossings.

Image source, PA Media

Moving away from the news of Keir Starmer's resignation as an MP. Earlier, we reported the rate of a 10-year loan to the British government reached its highest level since 2008.

The prime minister's official spokesman says fiscal discipline is the "bedrock" of the economy’s stability - after the government's long-term borrowing costs soared.

He adds: "We don’t comment on markets. More generally, I would just say that fiscal discipline is the bedrock of economic stability and national security.

"The chancellor and the prime minister are in lockstep that the government will meet the fiscal rules with a buffer against uncertainty and we’re cutting the deficit faster than any other G7 economy to the lowest level in six years."

He would not say what size buffer the prime minister was looking to secure.

When Keir Starmer announced he would stepping down as prime minister in June, he said he wanted to spend more time on "the most important job" of being with his family.

"Being the best husband I can, to my fantastic wife Vic, who has been a rock by my side through good times and bad," he told crowds in an emotional end to his resignation speech.

"And being the best dad I can to my beautiful children, who are my pride and joy."

We can now bring you Keir Starmer's full statement on his resignation as an MP:

"Over the summer, I have had time to reflect and consider my future. I have decided that now is the right time to step down as MP for Holborn and St Pancras and hand the baton over to a successor.

"It's been an honour and privilege to represent the best constituency in the country since taking over from the great Frank Dobson 11 years ago.

"But it is now time to step aside and focus on other issues: international affairs including defence, security, trade and technology in a fast changing world.

"I will also continue working with others as I have done over many decades to tackle violence against women and girls. As I do that, I will always remain immensely proud to have represented the place Vic, the kids and I call home.

"I look back with pride on what my constituency team and I have delivered in Holborn and St Pancras since 2015 and I thank all those who I was privileged to work with on so many issues of local concern: affordable housing projects, delivering first class education and tackling youth violence through our Camden Youth Safety Taskforce.

"I want to thank my CLP team who have always stood firmly by me, and given me the support I needed as I stood for Leader of the Labour Party and then as I took my Party from political, moral and financial ruin to an historic landslide election win in 2024 and two years as Prime Minister when we stabilised the economy, rebuilt our public services, invested record amounts in our defence and security, began lifting hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty and transformed Britain's reputation with international partners.

"I want to thank my constituency staff who, throughout all those 11 years, have worked tirelessly on casework and helped me do my utmost to serve the people of Holborn and St Pancras. I could not have done this job without them.

"There will now be a process to appoint my successor ahead of a by-election. Whoever is lucky enough to become the Labour candidate here will have my full support and backing and I will continue to give my full support to the Prime Minister and this Labour government."

As we've just reported, Keir Starmer says he will step down as an MP for Holborn and St Pancras.

Starmer resigned as prime minister earlier in the summer, with Andy Burnham replacing him.

At the time it was thought Starmer would be staying on as the MP for the north London constituency, although he now appears to have changed his position.

Former Prime Minister Keir Starmer will stand down as an MP, he has told his local paper.

Starmer has been MP for Holborn and St Pancras in central London since 2015.

Speaking to the Camden New Journal, he says standing down will allow him to "focus on other things" such as international affairs, defence, and security.

He also tells the paper it was time to "pass the baton to a successor".

Image source, Reuters