Andy Burnham pledges end to political instability as he becomes UK PM

Britain's seventh PM in a decade pledged major changes in bid to see off populist forces that are making large gains. Burnham's appointment was confirmed on Monday as he met King Charles III at Buckingham Palace. Becoming the United Kingdom's seventh premier in a decade, he pledged to end the political instability that has plagued the country. Burnham replaces Keir Starmer, who was ousted just two years after winning a landslide election victory amid ongoing gains by populist forces. 'Britain needs to show the world that we can regain our stability once again,' Burnham said. 'We have not been good enough and we need to be better.' Starmer was ousted by his peers about a month ago. On leaving office, he labelled his work as prime minister 'the privilege of my life' and said that Burnham has his 'full support.' 'We will make this moment a circuit-breaker for Britain, bringing forward the biggest changes in the last 40 years. A new political model and a new economic model,' Burnham declared. Former Defence Secretary John Healey has been named finance minister after Rachel Reeves was fired. Healey resigned from Starmer's government last month after accusing him of failing to invest enough in defence. Yvette Cooper has been moved from the Foreign Office to become Health Secretary. Replacing her as Foreign Secretary is former Labour leader Ed Miliband. The Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy also left government, with Business Secretary Peter Kyle also sacked, according to Sky News. Shabana Mahmood will remain in her position as Home Secretary. The 'King of the North,' as Burnham has been nicknamed, has been backed by the Labour Party as the party's best chance of reining in Nigel Farage's populist, anti-immigration Reform UK.