Andy Burnham replaces Keir Starmer as British PM: What it means for India-UK ties
Britain has got its seventh prime minister in 10 years — Andy Burnham, also known as the ‘King of the North’. The former Greater Manchester mayor is set to inherit a strong relationship with India after the free trade agreement came into effect last week. Experts note that the 56-year-old is likely to remain bullish on ties with New Delhi
In recent times, the United Kingdom has seen many prime ministers come and go. In the past decade, the country has seen six prime ministers step down. And today (July 20), the revolving door of British politics will see more movement with the exit of Keir Starmer and Andy Burnham becoming the new leader of Britain.
Burnham’s rise to the top comes after Keir Starmer, amid a mutiny from within his party, announced his plans to resign last month. Following this, Burnham made an uncontested bid for leadership of the governing Labour Party, receiving the backing of almost 95 per cent of his party’s lawmakers in parliament.
More from ExplainersBut as Burnham settles into his new role, there are questions about what his elevation means for British-India ties. Will he stay the course as did Starmer, or will he move in a different direction?
Who is Andy Burnham?
Fifty-six-year-old Burnham, who replaces Starmer as British PM, joined the Labour Party as a teenager. At the age of 31, he was first elected to Parliament from his hometown of Leigh, in Greater Manchester.
He first served as a junior minister under Tony Blair, but joined the Cabinet as chief secretary to the Treasury, and later culture secretary and health secretary, under Gordon Brown.
In 2010, after Brown resigned following Labour’s general election defeat, Burnham ran to become the party’s leader. He came fourth out of the five contenders, losing to Ed Miliband, but spent the next five years building up his appeal with the party’s grassroots. In 2015, he tried again, beaten this time by Jeremy Corbyn.
In 2017, Burnham contested the mayoral elections for Greater Manchester. He won the contest with more than 60 per cent of the vote and was re-elected by an even bigger margin in 2021.
In his time as mayor, where he earned the title ‘King of the North’, Burnham pushed an agenda centred on public transport, housing, and public health. It was dubbed “Manchesterism”, what he called “business-friendly socialism” designed to respond to “the high-inequality, low-growth trap” that he says dominated in the 1980s.
He became even more famous during the Covid pandemic, when he accused the Conservative government of treating the north of England with “contempt” over regional lockdown restrictions.
He even squared off against Starmer last year, openly opposing him over welfare cuts.
Burnham’s rise to the top came following the local and regional election results in May. At the time, Josh Simmons announced he was stepping down from his seat, giving Burnham the chance to launch a leadership challenge.
Weakened, Starmer was unable to block his candidacy for a second time, and Burnham resoundingly defeated the hard-right Reform UK candidate in the June 18 poll.
What can one expect from Andy Burnham’s foreign policy?
While the ‘King of the North’ has already announced U-turns on many of Starmer’s domestic policies, he is likely to maintain his predecessor’s position on major foreign policy issues as the UK’s next prime minister. This includes bolstering London’s close ties with Kyiv and plans to strengthen relations with the European Union after the rancour of the Brexit years.
In an article for The Times, Burnham reaffirmed Britain’s commitment to its leadership role and to maintaining its existing alliances. Britain’s security, he wrote, is directly linked to Ukraine’s security, suggesting that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy can expect as much support from Burnham as from Starmer.
What about Burnham’s ties with India?
Many note that Burnham will also push forward UK-India ties, focusing largely on trade and strategic cooperation.
Many strategic experts even point to his 2019 India visit to illustrate their point. At that time, Burnham travelled to Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Delhi in a trip organised by the Manchester India Partnership (MIP) - an organisation set up for businesses and universities to engage with India.
“India is a key market in Greater Manchester’s internationalisation strategy as it presents significant opportunities to the city-region, but these opportunities are mutual, and Greater Manchester is also helping India with its own economic growth plans,” he then said.
As Rajesh Agrawal, chair of the Labour Friends of India (LFIN), a diaspora group, was quoted as saying, “Andy understands that growth comes from longer-term relationships. If you look at his own track record in Manchester, he’s worked to strengthen links with India through businesses, universities, innovation, and improving connectivity with a direct flight between India and Manchester.”
Notably, over the years, Greater Manchester has actively courted Indian businesses, start-ups, and universities, seeking partnerships in areas such as artificial intelligence, digital services, fintech, health technology, and advanced manufacturing.
Vishakha Yaduvanshi, the consul general of India in Manchester, also told news agency PTI that Burnham, as mayor, backed stronger links with India through businesses, universities, innovation networks, and regional partnerships.
It is under Burnham’s tenure that India opened its new consulate in Manchester in March last year. Yaduvanshi described it as a “landmark moment” that highlighted the potential of the north of England, including “its industries, academia and sporting ethos”, within the wider bilateral relationship.
She also pointed to Burnham’s meeting with former Indian high commissioner Vikram Doraiswami in December 2025, and his virtual participation in the India-North England Opportunity Summit in March this year as signs of his longstanding commitment to the India-UK partnership.
According to Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, senior fellow for South Asia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Burnham will push forward the UK-India ties. He was of the opinion that Burnham has “an opportunity to deepen these improved India-UK ties, deliver on the prosperity agenda and ensure a landmark dividend on bilateral defence and strategic cooperation with India, which looks to diversify its defence relationships while modernising its armed forces capability and boosting defence manufacturing in order to export to the world”.
What happens to India-UK trade under Burnham?
Many experts also note that Burnham’s elevation comes just days after the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) kicked into effect. With this free trade agreement, the two countries are looking to further trade and ties.
And many experts note that one of the big tests for Burnham will be the implementation of the FTA between the two countries.
When asked about whether Burnham would be bullish on the trade pact, Harjinder Kang, the UK’s Trade Commissioner for South Asia, who was also the chief negotiator for the deal, expressed confidence that Burnham would continue to maintain a highly bullish outlook on relations with New Delhi.
“Well, I’m, I am actually going to put my neck out and say yes, because I actually spoke to him not so long ago, because there were some mayors coming to India at the end of the year, and he was going to be part of that journey. And he was very keen on the Greater Manchester area and the relationship with India that he wanted to build, and he was going to come on a mission himself. So let’s see what happens in the future.”
“But I strongly suspect he will be in the same frame of mind that all his predecessors have been, whether it’s, you know, Keir Starmer, whether it’s Rishi Sunak, etc. They are all very much thinking that this is why you would not want to have a positive political and trading relationship with the fastest-growing economy, which is going to be the third-largest superpower in the next five years or so. Why would you not want to do that? Especially the UK, because the relationship is unique. No one else has this relationship,” said Kang to ANI.
However, amid the optimism, experts have also called for caution. British Indian think tank 1928 Institute noted, “From an India policy and diaspora perspective, Andy Burnham would inherit a strong foundation. However, his attention is likely to be pulled in several directions, particularly given the domestic focus of his agenda. It would therefore be prudent to establish an India Task Force and/or appoint an India Trade Envoy, to maintain the current momentum.”
With inputs from agencies
Tags
Military drones & police check-ups: How Sri Lanka is fighting against worst dengue outbreak in a decade
How Facebook job ad lured 2 Karnataka men into Myanmar cyber scam camp
Why is India seeing 95% cloud cover despite a Super El Niño?
What is CJP’s fourth demand to the government as protests in Delhi intensify?
The new geography of war: Why the Houthis can no longer be ignored