Prime Minister
Responsibilities
The Prime Minister is the leader of His Majesty’s Government and is ultimately responsible for the policy and decisions of the government.
As leader of the UK government the Prime Minister also:
- oversees the operation of the Civil Service and government agencies
- chooses members of the government
- is the principal government figure in the House of Commons
Current role holder
The Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP
Andy Burnham became Prime Minister on 20 July 2026.
Andy was elected Member of Parliament for Leigh in June 2001. He served in government between 2007 and 2010 as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and Secretary of State for Health.
In opposition, he served as Shadow Secretary of State for Health, Shadow Secretary of State for Education, and Shadow Home Secretary.
Andy was elected Mayor of Greater Manchester in May 2017, and re-elected in 2021 and 2024. As Mayor, he brought the bus network back under public control and oversaw Manchester becoming the fastest growing city-region in the UK.
He returned to Parliament as Member of Parliament for Makerfield in June 2026, and was elected Leader of the Labour Party on 16 July 2026.
Andy is married and has three children.
Previous holders of this role
Find out more about previous holders of this role in our past Prime Ministers section.