UK’s new prime minister faces an uphill battle

In this episode of GZERO Europe, Carl Bildt examines the United Kingdom’s political shake-up following the appointment of Andy Burnham as the country’s seventh prime minister in a decade.

Bildt says Burnham inherits a Labour government that went from a historic election victory to a sharp decline in public confidence in just two years. “It was an implosion due to the lack of credibility and the lack of handling and the lack of everything in terms of primarily domestic affairs,” Bildt says.

While Bildt credits outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer with managing foreign and security policy relatively well, he says Burnham’s biggest test will be rebuilding trust with voters and addressing economic challenges. “The question mark is on fiscal handling on the economic issues,” Bildt says, as the new prime minister looks to strengthen Labour ahead of the next election.