LONDON, July 20, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Britain on Monday was set to gain its 
seventh prime minister since the start of 2016 as Andy Burnham takes over 
following the resignation of Keir Starmer.

Labour had criticised the rapid turnover in leadership of the Conservative 
Party when it was in office, but then ditched its own unpopular leader within 
two years of winning the July 2024 elections.

Veteran Labour politician Andy Burnham was to acknowledge this trend in his 
opening speech, saying he is "acutely conscious" of the need for more stable 
politics.

Starmer announced his resignation in June following months of nose-diving 
poll ratings and manoeuvering by his own MPs, who have overwhelmingly backed 
Burnham to take over.

Starmer had swept to power in a landslide general election victory in July 
2024, ending 14 years of Conservative rule.

He had criticised the "chaos" of chopping and changing leaders under the 
Conservatives, who went through five prime ministers from 2016 to 2024, only 
to see his party take the same route.

Here are the seven prime ministers in power since the start of 2016:

David Cameron, May 2010 - July 2016

Britain's decision to leave the European Union ended Cameron's second term as 
prime minister.

After the country voted to leave in a June 2016 referendum, Cameron, who had 
campaigned to remain in the bloc, resigned.

Theresa May, July 2016 - July 2019

May took over amid the fallout from the Brexit referendum after a long tenure 
in the notoriously difficult post of interior minister.

She called a snap election the following year to strengthen her hand in 
Brexit negotiations, but the move backfired when her party emerged as the 
biggest in parliament but without a majority.

Unable to get her Brexit deal through parliament, the Conservatives suffered 
a drubbing in European Parliament elections in May 2019, leading to her 
resignation.

Boris Johnson, July 2019 - September 2022

Johnson, a maverick politician famed for making a career out of breaking the 
rules, had to navigate the coronavirus pandemic and Britain's departure from 
the European Union.

He led the Conservatives to victory in the December 2019 snap general 
election.

But weakened by scandals he was eventually forced to step down following a 
cascade of resignations by ministers and aides.

Liz Truss, September 2022 - October 2022

Truss was prime minister for just 49 days, the shortest on record, before 
being ousted over her disastrous tax-cutting mini-budget.

Her economic agenda spooked the markets and took the UK to the brink of 
financial meltdown, losing her the support of her own party.

Rishi Sunak, October 2022 - July 2024

Sunak was at the helm for 20 months before losing the 2024 general election 
to Starmer, bringing to an end 14 years of Conservative rule.

He brought some stability following the Truss debacle, but failed to stop 
bitter Tory infighting.

The privately wealthy former financier ultimately failed to connect with 
regular voters struggling with a cost-of-living crisis.

Keir Starmer, July 2024 - July 2026

The 63-year-old won praise internationally for standing up to US President 
Donald Trump over the Iran war and maintaining European support for Ukraine.

But at home he made unpopular moves to cut welfare, which were watered down 
by left-wing lawmakers, and to increase business costs amid a cost of living 
crisis.

He struggled against the rise of the hard-right Reform UK party, led by Nigel 
Farage and Labour suffered humiliating defeats in local elections in May. And 
questions were raised over his judgement after he appointed and then sacked 
Peter Mandelson as US envoy to Washington, over his ties to late Us sex 
offender Jeffrey Epstein.