LONDON - “Not another one,” Claire Walker sighed, as Britain welcomed Andy Burnham as its seventh prime minister since early 2016 on July 20, with voters voicing their frustration after years of political churn.

Burnham was asked to form a government by King Charles after Keir Starmer resigned, lasting only two years in office despite handing the Labour Party a landslide victory in general elections in 2024.

Walker, a 65-year-old London consultant, said she had yet to “make an impression” of the former mayor of Greater Manchester, who was parachuted into the top office by the Labour Party.

“I’ve heard nothing concrete on how he’ll fix the economy,” said an exasperated-sounding Walker. “I’m waiting with bated breath.”

“If his rhetoric is as dynamic as his seeming personality and he actually brings to life some of what he’s talking about, the next two to three years will be more promising,” she added.

Nearby in central London, sports coach Jamie B. was reading a newspaper splashed with headlines about Burnham’s new role.

“I was reading about the football,” grinned Jamie, 65, adding that he was “not the most political”.

“But I’m fed up that we’ve got another PM... the seventh in ten years.”

“He’s quite left, isn’t he” said Jamie, adding that he would “welcome the leftward swing” from Starmer.

In Manchester, Burnham’s political home in the north-west, student Joel McCulloch was more “cautiously optimistic”.

“I really rate Andy Burnham for what he’s done with Manchester. I think h...