Andy Burnham's faith 'will inform the way he governs' as he prepares to become the first openly Catholic PM to enter Downing Street

By GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Published: 14:35, 12 July 2026 | Updated: 14:38, 12 July 2026 Andy Burnham's faith will 'inform' the way he governs as he prepares to become the first openly Catholic prime minister to enter Downing Street, it was said today. Richard Moth, the Archbishop of Westminster and leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, suggested Mr Burnham would draw on his faith in office. 'It certainly has meaning to me, and I'm sure it does to him,' he said of Mr Burnham entering No10 as a Catholic - nearly 500 years after Henry VIII split from Rome. 'As a Catholic, a Christian, one thinks out of that space, if you like, and that informs conscience, it informs the way we think about things.' Mr Burnham, who was born in Merseyside, inherited his Catholic faith from his mother and attended Catholic schools during his childhood. He is set to replace Keir Starmer in Downing Street a week tomorrow after standing unopposed for the Labour leadership. The 56-year-old's entry into No10 will raise some constitutional challenges. Under a law from the 19th century, Mr Burnham will be barred from advising the King on top appointments to the Church of England. The Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1829 states that anyone breaking this law shall be 'deemed guilty of a high misdemeanour, and disabled for ever from holding any office'. Andy Burnham's faith will 'inform' the way he governs as he prepares to become the first openly Catholic prime minister to enter Downing Street Richard Moth, the Archbishop of Westminster and leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, suggested Mr Burnham would draw on his faith in office But, in practice, Mr Burnham will simply be able to hurdle those challenges by delegating the duties - which are largely a formality - to another government minister. It is a constitutional conundrum that was previously raised when Boris Johnson was prime minister. Mr Johnson is widely accepted to have been Britain's first Catholic premier, despite him having technically entered Downing Street in 2019 as an Anglican. As he prepares to become PM, Mr Burnham shared a clip on social media of Mr Moth speaking about his Catholic faith on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show. The Archbishop of Westminster told the programme of Mr Burnham's upcoming premiership: 'Certainly, looking at it from a Catholic perspective... [there is] a really big accent on the value of the human person. 'And I really do hope that we're going to see that real concern for humanity, not just in the grand scale, but... the needs of families, the needs of the homeless, all that will come from his Catholic understanding, I think.' Asked if Mr Burnham becoming Britain's first PM to enter No10 with an openly Catholic faith was an important milestone, he added: 'Well, yes, I hope it will be. 'I was privileged to have a meeting with Keir Starmer just after I became Archbishop of Westminster. 'And depending on how things unfold in the next week or so, I'll be looking to have a meeting with our new prime minister and discuss things with him too.' Mr Burnham has been open about his Catholic faith in the past, telling the Guardian in 2009 that the three most important things in his life, aside from family, are 'Everton FC, the Labour Party and the Catholic church - in that order'.  But the strength of his faith appeared to have fluctuated in 2015, when he told the Huffington Post website: 'I'm Catholic by upbringing, but I'm not particularly religious now.' The father-of-three added: 'My kids go to a Catholic school, so I still believe in the values and the grounding it gives you, I'm a very big believer in that.' In the same interview, Mr Burnham suggested the Catholic Church had lost touch with millions of ordinary British Catholics on issues like gay rights and birth control. 'I find that quite difficult because if I think of the church of my youth, and the priests that I knew, the feeling and overriding mood was quite forgiving really, quite humane, humorous, irreverent, even the priests,' he said. 'That's my memory of the church that I grew up with. And it seemed at some point... to click into a more judgemental mode and became much more obsessed with sexuality and issues related to sexual behaviour.' But Mr Burnham stressed he still values his Catholic upbringing, adding: 'Catholic social teaching underpins my politics.' Boris Johnson was said to have 'reverted' to Catholicism when he married Carrie Symonds at Westminster Cathedral while he was PM in 2021 Tony Blair converted to Catholicism - a decision he said had been driven by his wife, Cherie - shortly after he left Downing Street When he was a baby, Mr Johnson was baptised into his mother's Catholic faith. But he was later confirmed into the Church of England while a pupil at Eton College. The Tory politician was then said to have 'reverted' to Catholicism when he married Carrie Symonds at Westminster Cathedral - the largest Catholic church in England and Wales - while he was PM in 2021. But Mr Johnson rarely discussed his faith in public during his time in No10. When asked by ITV News if he was a practising Catholic following his marriage to Carrie, he replied: 'I don't discuss these deep issues.' It was reported at the time of his wedding that Mr Johnson would pass his duties on Church of England appointments to his Lord Chancellor, Robert Buckland.  Tony Blair similarly did not talk about religion when he was Labour PM between 1997 and 2007. 'We don't do God,' former Downing Street spin doctor Alastair Campbell is famously reported to have said when his boss was asked about his faith.  But, shortly after leaving No10, Sir Tony converted to Catholicism - a decision he said had been driven by his wife, Cherie.