Andy Burnham made history today (20 July) by becoming the UK’s first Labour and Co-operative prime minister.
The Co-operative Party – a centre-left political party supporting co-operative values and principles – has had an electoral agreement with Labour since 1927. It has seen a number of high-ranking MPs in post (including Lucy Powell as leader of the House of Commons and Steve Reed as secretary of state for DEFRA), but until now, none have taken the keys to Number 10 Downing Street.
There are 43 Labour and Co-operative MPs in the House of Commons, with Burnham the most recent addition after the Makerfield by-election in June.
Addressing the country for the first time after taking over from Keir Starmer, Burnham said he would set out a 10-year plan for the country later this year to transform the politics and economics of the UK from “where we are now to where I believe we all want Britain to be, wherever we’re coming from, whatever party we support”.
He added: “I will put the care of people at the heart of everything I do. I will give this my all, and I ask you all to pull with me. Let’s build a new national sense of unity, of common purpose and positivity.”
Related: Co-operation and collaboration at the heart of Burnham’s economic plan
This begins with helping “people to live well, building a more preventative state, investing in people’s success rather than paying for failure,” he said, outlining intentions to overhaul the education and housing systems, and plans to address the cost of living crisis. His first act as leader was to launch a national drive to end rough sleeping, backed by an additional £340m taken from uncommitted budgets in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
“This is something a government can fix if it chooses to. Today, I’m choosing to,” he said.
His plans are “about putting the right values, the right standards at the heart of government,” he said, and in doing so, building “a new political model and a new economic model”. Burnham is expected to start announcing his cabinet imminently.
Over the weekend, Co-operatives UK CEO Rose Marley, who worked with Burnham at Greater Manchester Combined Authority, appeared on Sky News, BBC Breakfast and BBC Radio 5 Live to reflect on his leadership style, his belief in sharing power with communities, and why co-operative approaches have helped shape Greater Manchester.
Burnham’s co-operative experience spans his early work with the Football Taskforce and Supporters Direct (which helps fans set up supporters’ trusts as democratic co-operatives) – to more recently launching Manchester’s Co-operative Commission during his time as mayor, and his work with Middleton Co-operative Mayoral Development Corporation.
“Over many years, we’ve been proud to welcome Andy to Co-op Congress, our National Youth Summit and conversations about how co-operation can help tackle some of the UK’s biggest challenges,” apex body Co-operatives UK said in a statement.
“Throughout that time, one idea has remained consistent: that communities should have more power over the places where they live, and that economic success shouldn’t just be measured in pounds. We’re talking about giving people and communities power and control. Andy Burnham talks about good growth in every postcode – and ‘good growth’ absolutely speaks to co-operatives and our language.
“We now look forward to working with the prime minister, ministers, parliamentarians from all parties and our members across the UK to help make that ambition a reality.”
Congratulations have also been shared by the wider co-operative movement in the UK and internationally.
“From Rochdale in 1844 to Downing Street today… For the first time in history, a Labour and Co-operative politician leads the country,” said the Co-op Party. “Congratulations to Andy Burnham, Britain’s first Labour and Co-operative prime minister.”
James de le Vingne, CEO of the Employee Ownership Association (EOA), also welcomed the appointment. “Today’s speech outside of No.10 (South) included a promise to reorganise our economy – rebuilding industry, spreading power and putting people back at its heart – this is a promise the EOA warmly welcomes, and is ready to support.”
Community Energy England posted on LInkedIn: “Community Energy England welcomes the new prime minister’s commitment to giving people and places more power, strengthening local economies and enabling communities to shape their own futures.
“These ambitions closely align with the values at the heart of the community energy movement – putting power into the hands of local people through democratic ownership of clean energy, creating jobs and skills, improving energy resilience, and helping communities tackle the cost of living.
“We look forward to working with the new Government to ensure community energy plays a central role in building a fairer, more secure and sustainable energy future.”
Attilio Dadda, president of Italy’s Legacoop, called the appointment “a historic moment”, while Osamu Nakanu (vice executive director, Japan Workers’ Co-operative Union (JWCU), who met with Andy Burnham and Rose Marley during Japan’s Kansai Expo in June 2025 to share co-operative practices, also congratulated the new prime minister.
“It is really an epoch-making event, not just for the co-operative movement and politics in the UK, but for the global co-operative movements including Japan,” he said.
