Labour politician Andy Burnham has been appointed the new British Prime Minister following the resignation of his party colleague Keir Starmer.

Burnham, the fifth prime minister in four years, was the mayor of Manchester since 2017. He has also held ministerial positions in several governments and served as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons, a role to which he returned earlier this year.

Roman Catholic background

A former altar boy, Burnham has pointed out on several occasions that his values were shaped by his Roman Catholic faith.

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Although he admitted in 2015 that he was "not particularly religious", mainly due to Catholic teachings on sexuality, in an interview on the day of his appointment as prime minister, he said that he does not regularly attend mass but still professes the Roman Catholic faith.

Burnham began his first day as Prime Minister visiting a Roman Catholic charity for the homeless, where he pledged to end rough sleeping.

EAUK letter to Burnham

Gavin Calver, CEO of the UK Evangelical Alliance (EAUK) has written a letter to the new prime minister, inviting him to “meet with UK evangelical leaders who are actively restoring social cohesion”.

The evangelical leader starts the letter congratulating Burnham on his appointment, and telling him that they “will be praying for you and your team as you take up your responsibilities and seek to restore public confidence in politicians, and politics serving the people of the United Kingdom”.

Calver outlines the long history of the EAUK, and stresses that it now represents “a constituency of over 2 million evangelicals who are committed to seeing the nation flourish and to serve those most in need in local communities, as Jesus combines illustrated in the Bible”.

Building relationships

He underlines the work of the EAUK to “build constructive relationships with the Labour government” since de 2024 elections.

The EAUK CEO recalls that in several press conferences Burnham “set out a vision for ‘placebased collaboration’ as an integral tenet to regional and local growth”.

Furthermore, as a mayor of Manchester, he “worked closely with evangelical churches and organisations” in addressing social issues.

That is why the EAUK urges him “to see the wider evangelical constituency as a committed and critical friend in delivering your devolution agenda”.

Calver also acknowledges that there are disagreements, specially regarding the Conversion practices Bill, but states that a meeting “could provide an opportunity to hear first-hand our concerns, and how proposals could wrongly disparage the work of churches and undermine freedom of religion or belief”.

Polarised society

“You assume office at a time in our nation when politics are fragmented and deeply fractured. It is our prayer that you will succeed in leading the nation forward”, says the EAUK.

The UK evangelical church “shares your ambition to rebuild institutions and restore confidence in politics. We are good news people in a polarised society and we are here to serve and advocate for those most in need”, it concludes.

Prayer for the prime minister

The EAUK also posted a prayer for the new prime minister on social media. They prayed that God “will give him the vision to lead with integrity, the mercy and courage to seek justice, and the humility to lead sacrificially”.

It also prayed for the country and the churches, that they “play our part in influencing and transforming society”.

A prayer for the new prime minister ? pic.twitter.com/omkJ3ZkmJY

— Evangelical Alliance (@EAUKnews) July 20, 2026