Andy Burnham has used his first day as Prime Minister to announce what he describes as the biggest political changes in 40 years, declining to rule out future tax increases and reshaping his top team with a series of striking Cabinet appointments. Ed Miliband was passed over for the role of Chancellor and instead made Foreign Secretary, a move framed as a consolation prize, while Angela Rayner has returned to Cabinet roughly ten months after resigning over a tax scandal. The reshuffle also saw Wes Streeting appointed Defence Secretary, with critics noting the inclusion of a minister previously convicted of fraud among those overseeing Burnham's agenda.

Elsewhere, Burnham said he backs a new "death tax" to help fund social care, citing his father's experience with Alzheimer's as evidence that the current system is "broken". He also held an early phone call inviting Donald Trump to visit Manchester, a notable shift given he had previously suggested he might ban the US President from the city over concerns he found "deeply troubling". Labour is reported to have received a five-point boost in the polls following the change of leadership, which came after Burnham's third bid for the party's top job.