Image source, EPA

Downing Street is packed with media this morning ahead of the change of prime ministers.

Extra safety measures have been put into place, including metal barriers outside the gates of Downing Street and a Metropolitan Police ban on using loud speakers in the area.

Veteran anti-Brexit activist Steve Bray - who blasted loud music outside Downing Street during Keir Starmer’s speech last month - has instead turned up outside Buckingham Palace. He tells the BBC he won’t play any music as Starmer and Burnham arrive at the Palace.

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Our chief political correspondent Henry Zeffman has been reporting from a busy Downing Street since 06:00, here's his take on the day:

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Andy Burnham will undertake a summer tour across the UK during the early weeks of his premiership.

Described as a "listening tour" of the UK, Burnham will travel across the country in August while Parliament breaks for the summer.

Among the areas understood to be on his itinerary is Port Talbot in south Wales, a town which saw the closure of its last steel-making blast furnace in September 2024.

The former Greater Manchester mayor will become prime minister later today but will not face MPs until September when the Commons returns from its six-week recess, unless he decides to recall Parliament.

Several Welsh Labour MPs have told BBC Wales that they understand Burnham intends to visit Port Talbot, once home to the UK's largest steelworks which has seen 2,800 job losses as it transitions to greener steel-making.

Sima Kotecha
Senior UK correspondent

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Lord James Timpson has resigned from government, the BBC has been told.

The Minister of State for Prisons, Parole and Probation was appointed in July 2024. He left his job as CEO of the Timpson group - a business which provides key cutting and shoe repair services - to take up the role.

In a departing statement seen exclusively by the BBC, he said: "It has been an honour to serve as Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending and to leave with our prisons and probation service in a much healthier and happier state than two years ago."

He oversaw the controversial early release scheme which saw tens of thousand of inmates let out to create more space - prisons in England and Wales were almost at full capacity.

His critics will argue prisons continue to be violent, drug infused, and overcrowded. Probation officers continue to tell me they’re overworked and can’t cope.

But figures do show assaults against staff and self-harm in prisons are falling.

Some will question why he’s leaving before the Sentencing Act 2026 is enacted in September when more people are expected to be released early and further criminals will serve their sentences in the community.

One source in the Ministry of Justice told me, "we’re gutted he’s going but the new person is going to have their work cut out to get their head round what’s round the corner".

Image source, Tayfun Salci

Earlier this morning, Andy Burnham was seen at his temporary HQ in Westminster, London, as he prepares to become the country's new PM.

Brian Wheeler
Political reporter

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People in other countries are often puzzled by how the UK can keep changing prime ministers without having a general election.

In the UK, the prime minister is simply the leader of the political party with a majority of MPs in the House of Commons.

They are not directly elected like US or French presidents, even though UK general elections can often feel presidential, with their focus on the party leaders.

In fact, the only people who vote for the prime minister by name are his local constituents.

If a party decides it wants to change leaders before the next scheduled election, as has happened with increasing frequency in recent years, they can.

Andy Burnham could decide to call an election when he becomes PM, although has not shown any signs that he will do so.

He will have to face the electorate eventually - the last scheduled date for a general election is 15 August 2029.

Some - but not all - opposition parties are demanding an immediate election, arguing that Burnham, who was not even an MP until a month ago, has no mandate to be prime minister.

He argues that he will stick broadly to the policies set out in Labour's 2024 election manifesto and he was given the backing of voters in Makerfield, who returned him to Parliament in a by-election.

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Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock has praised Andy Burnham for "offering a real sense of direction".

Lord Kinnock, who led the party from 1983 to 1992, tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he thinks Burnham gives "a strong sense of purpose, equity, fairness".

He says the public don’t expect "instantaneous miracles", but they are looking for evidence of progress.

In Burnham's first speech as Labour leader on Friday, he said he would not have joined the party "had it not been for the legend that is Neil Kinnock".

Lord Kinnock adds that Burnham is "seeking to communicate this idea that nothing is going to arrive immediately" but the focus is on the future.

The country doesn't "really know" about Andy Burnham's plan, a Conservative MP tells BBC Breakfast.

Shadow cabinet minister Alex Burghart criticises Burnham for only doing a "few interviews" and taking "very few questions", adding "we need to see the plan".

This echoes criticism from the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who wishes Burnham "every success" as prime minister, but warns he's entering office without "any clear plan".

"It sounds to me that a lot of things he has floated so far cost a lot of money. That means you need to find the money from somewhere else," Burghart adds.

Daniel Wittenberg
Reporting from Buckingham Palace

Veteran anti-Brexit activist Steve Bray has turned up outside Buckingham Palace ahead of the change of prime minister.

The campaigner, who blasted loud music outside Downing Street during Keir Starmer’s speech last month, seems to have found a way around police restrictions preventing him from being heard there today.

But he tells the BBC he won’t play any music as Starmer and Andy Burnham travel to the Palace for their respective audiences with the King.

However, he says he might use his megaphone to chant "there’s only one Andy Burnham".

Imogen James
Live reporter

Today, Andy Burnham will replace Keir Starmer as prime minister. Here's what we're expecting:

For Starmer

The current prime minister will give a farewell speech on Downing Street on his final day in the role.

He will then to head to Buckingham Palace to meet King Charles.

In private, he will offer his resignation.

For Burnham

In something of a political dance, once Starmer leaves the Palace it will be Burnham's turn to greet the King.

Burnham will then be asked to form a government, and officially be appointed prime minister.

After a short drive from the Palace to Downing Street, Burnham is expected to make his first speech as PM.

He'll then disappear behind the famous black door of No 10 to start his work in his new role, including selecting a new cabinet.

Chris Mason
Political editor, at Downing Street

Image source, Getty Images

Days like this are at once intensely political and personal.

Andy Burnham has told the Times his father Roy - a lifelong Labour man, living with Alzheimer’s - doesn’t know his son is about to become Labour’s eighth prime minister; the country’s 59th.

As for policy, there is a heavy hint in the same newspaper interview that he wants to raise the level at which people start paying income tax.

What is known as the personal allowance has been frozen at £12,570 in recent years. He is promising what he calls "tangible" improvements to help with the cost of living.

The scene is set here in Downing Street again. A gardener tends to the flower bed; a roadsweeper has just trundled up the road doing what roadsweepers do; and another prime ministerial changeover beckons.

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Gus O'Donnell tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme that once Andy Burnham becomes PM he will be briefed on security issues and the nuclear codes.

O’Donnell served as cabinet secretary - the most senior civil servant - under Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron.

Firstly, civil servants will talk him through "some of the security issues, which are outstanding, which means they are a problem urgently," the former head of the civil service says.

"Secondly there is the whole business with the nuclear codes," he adds, saying the new PM would be briefed to be prepared for a scenario "where our nuclear submarines are targeted" and decide whether to change the current plans.

Burnham's plan to give people 'breathing space' is not without riskpublished at 08:11 BST 20 July

08:11 BST 20 July

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent, at Downing Street

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Expect a focus from Andy Burnham in his speech today - and for the rest of the week - on the cost of living.

He will say that he wants to give people "breathing space" from the cost pressures they face.

What might that mean in policy terms? Like much about Burnham’s incoming government, we don’t really know.

Announcements on energy bills and bus fares seem likely to come this week. There may be reductions in taxes for hospitality and high street businesses, too, which could feed through to lower prices.

And there’s an intriguing hint in an interview Burnham has given to the Times today that he wants to look at increasing the rate of the personal allowance - the amount of money an individual can earn before paying income tax. I understand Unite, the trade union, has pushed for this in talks with the incoming PM.

But announcing a measure like that without at the same time explaining how it would be funded would be risky as far as the markets are concerned.

Do you have any questions about Andy Burnham as he prepares to enter No 10?

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Melanie Ward - Labour MP for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy and long-time supporter of Andy Burnham - says one of Andy Burnham’s first priorities is addressing the cost of living.

He will focus on "how do we get growth, jobs and economic potential into areas that have been left behind and forgotten in our country for too long", she tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

She puts forward a "massive" council house building programme, changing public transport, and "looking at how we take on vested interests in the water companies because people are fed up with having waterways with sewage in them for too long".

Last month, Burnham promised the "the biggest council house building programme since the post-war period".

Labour has already pledged to build 1.5 million new homes in England over the course of this Parliament - but it is falling behind on the target.

Sean Coughlan
Royal correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

This will be the fourth prime minister of King Charles III's reign, which only began in 2022.

Andy Burnham follows Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss. Rather than the corridors of power, it’s been more of a rapidly revolving Palace door.

It will mean, once again, that today the King plays his part as head of state, saying his farewells to the departing PM, in a final private audience, and then greeting the newcomer.

This all takes place at Buckingham Palace, with the incoming prime minister being brought to meet the King, and where Burnham will be asked to form a government.

This was called "kissing hands", when Downing Street’s new arrival would kiss the hand of the monarch, but now it’s a handshake and a photo is taken for posterity.

It’s a day of contrasting emotions too. There’s the unmistakable gloom hanging over the departing PM and then the untarnished optimism of the newcomer.

Going to the Palace might seem like a rather old-fashioned ritual, but it’s also been a stable process for the handover of power.

Andy Burnham's appointment as prime minister is a "huge moment" for the Labour Party - but also its "last chance" to make a real difference, according to Emma Burnell, editor of the LabourList website.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Burnell says there is "real optimism" about Burnham but also the sense within the party that they have "got to get this right".

She says Burnham needs to focus on making a difference in people's lives and says while he is constrained by the party's 2024 manifesto, he can "rejig the priorities" and shift the focus onto important issues, such as regional devolution.

"It's going to be a long, hard project. I don't think he's going to be able to do it overnight, he will need to show that there is real, tangible progress being made," she adds.

Image source, UK Parliament

Andy Burnham has remained largely tight-lipped on what specific policies he will implement - but here's some of what we know so far:

Digital ID - Burnham will scrap plans for a government-issued digital ID for all British adults, in a bid to shift focus to "the daily priorities facing people across the country," according to his office

North Sea oil - The new PM will also announce plans for new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea - though is likely to only support existing licences rather than issuing new ones, the BBC understands

Thames Water - Burnham has previously said he wants to see "greater public control" of water and energy sectors but has stopped short of calling for full nationalisation - we also know lenders to Thames Water are preparing to challenge any attempts to nationalise the country's biggest water company

Cost of living - Burnham is expected to lay out plans today to give "people breathing space on the cost of living" - but we don't know what those measures will be at this stage

Business rate cuts - During his campaign to become the MP for Makerfield, Burnham's team sent out a policy document promising a cut in business rates for pubs and music venues by 20% - paid for by higher taxes on warehouses used by the likes of Amazon

Burnham is fifth PM in four years - now he'll try to buck the trendpublished at 06:04 BST 20 July

06:04 BST 20 July

Chris Mason
Political editor

Image source, Tayfun Salci

By lunchtime today, the UK will have its fifth prime minister in four years.

No other sentence can so pithily summarise the nature of British politics right now than that one.

In the summer of 2022 Boris Johnson was on his way out, but still in office. Since then there has been Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer.

Little wonder Andy Burnham will say later, we are told, that he is "acutely conscious" of this churn at the top. His critics, within the Labour Party and beyond it, may allow themselves a wry smile at that, given they would argue he has been agitating for this moment for ages.

Burnham is determined to hit the ground running and, where possible, to maintain the style of leadership he adopted as the mayor of Greater Manchester.

The rules of the House of Commons and meetings with the King, among others, will probably mean he wears a suit more often than he has in recent years.

But other conventions may be very intentionally ditched. I hear, for instance, that he may not bother with a lectern for his first speech as prime minister, outside 10 Downing Street, on Monday.

• Read this analysis in full here

The short answer is a general election doesn't need to be called for Andy Burnham to become prime minister.

In the UK, the PM can choose to call a general election at any point. But there is no constitutional requirement for one to be called when there is a change of prime minister.

There may be calls for one, of course. People may want the chance to vote instead of getting a new leader they have not elected.

And if one is called now, Labour could suffer losses in Parliament, which it would not want.

Legally, the next general election must be held no later than 15 August 2029.

That’s five years on from the start of the current Parliament, which began on 9 July 2024, plus 25 working days to run an election campaign.

In an interview with the Times, Burnham has promised try to "do things in a different way" after what he says is a "decade of it just not working".

Published on the eve of the newly declared Labour Party leader moving into No 10, the paper questions Burnham on his 10-year plan for the nation, to which he says he plans to lay a "long" path to a "new kind of economy".

"To be clear to people, it can’t be done overnight," Burnham says.

"But you’ve got to show people where we’re going, and then the steps towards it. And that’s what I’m going to try to do."

The incoming prime minister also revealed that his father, who has Alzheimer's, isn't aware that he is about to lead the country.

"It’s a family achievement … although he doesn’t know it, it still makes me feel that we’ve kind of done something together," Burnham tells the Times.