‘Moment not just about Andy’ says mayor as Burnham becomes UK’s sixth Prime Minister in decade

Helen Godwin welcomed her party’s new leader but said the region wants to ‘feel change’

The West of England mayor has said it is “a time for hope” as Andy Burnham became Britain’s sixth Prime Minister in a decade on Monday. Labour’s Helen Godwin welcomed her party’s new leader, but also warned the moment was “not just about Andy” and that people in the West Country “want and need to see and feel change”.

“It’s about the direction of our country, including the West of England as the fastest-growing regional economy over the last five years,” she said.

“Over the years, I have worked closely with Andy Burnham. He already knows our region well, which will set him in good stead as Prime Minister.”

The mayor’s comments came as the former Manchester mayor made his first speech since taking over as Labour leader from Sir Keir Starmer.

Speaking outside No 10 Downing Street on Monday – without notes or the customary lectern – Burnham pledged to “build a new economy”.

He promised a 10-year plan for the UK and vowed to unveil a suite of cost-of-living support measures to help British people, potentially as early as Tuesday.

The new Labour leader also said his government would put “life’s essentials back under stronger public control” and breathe new life into the nation’s industrial heartlands.

“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,” he said.

“We will take power out of here and carry it into every postcode in the land, so that they can do more, and in doing more, build a new economy where we put life’s essentials back under stronger public control.”

Ms Godwin, who heads up the West of England Combined Authority – covering Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire – said on Monday she would “look forward” to working with the new Prime Minister to “make a difference for local residents”.

“We have a proper plan to secure further investment and create more jobs here, working with ministers and officials across the new government to get greater funding just as we have done over the last 15 months,” she added.

“Whether it’s taking more control of our buses, delivering mass transit, or more devolution from Westminster.”

Sir Keir formally submitted his resignation earlier on Monday, announcing “his work was done” and it had been a “privilege” to serve in Downing Street.