Britain is an 'absolute mess' having 'replaced one village idiot with another' while Andy Burnham yearns for 1970s 'lost paradise': Foreign media reacts to UK's new PM

By PERKIN AMALARAJ, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 11:58, 21 July 2026 | Updated: 12:56, 21 July 2026 The world's media has poured scorn on Britain's decline as Andy Burnham becomes the country's seventh prime minister in ten years.  Sky News Australia host Danica De Giorgio said the UK was simply replacing one 'village idiot with another.' She said: 'Who on earth is this new UK prime minister? To me, it seems as if Britain has replaced one village idiot with another.  'What does he stand for? And what hope is he talking about? The UK is in an absolute mess right now. If you want to look at an open border fiasco, look no further. Keir Starmer has presided over a migrant crisis, and they bring in the former mayor of Greater Manchester to replace him - unelected, by the way. Referring to his first speech as PM, she said: 'He says "I want to bring hope". Andy, you've got a lot of work to do, and I just feel that speech missed the mark. That would've been a time to try and unite Britain, because Britain is so divided right now.'  Italy's Corriere della Serra newspaper accused Burnham of being nostalgic for a past long left behind.  New British Prime Minister Andy Burnham delivers a speech outside 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, July 20 2026 Italian newspaper Corriere della Serra wrote that nostalgia has come 'the driving force of politics' for the UK The paper's London correspondent wrote: 'Britain's future is tinged with nostalgia. Or at least that's the vision its new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, seems to be outlining.'  It accused Burnham of exclusively blaming followers of neoliberalism, including Thatcher and Blair, on the woes facing Britain.  Luigi Ippolito wrote: 'Burnham's lost paradise seems to be the 1970s, forgetting that those were the years of energy rationing, piles of rubbish in the streets, and London forced to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund. 'Union power was strangling the country. Three-day working weeks were imposed, garbage was piled high in streets and the UK was pleading for IMF help.'  Back in Australia, an editorial published by The Australian said Burnham's strategy of blaming Thatcher for the UK's problems was a bad idea.  It wrote: 'Mr Burnham’s looking back nostalgically to Britain’s pre-Thatcher days of the early 1970s under Labour, when “the sick man of Europe”, is incomprehensible.' Over in the US, the New York Post called Burnham a 'a self-described socialist who has pushed to reject Margaret Thatcher-era policies' in its writeup of his ascension to high office. The newspaper pointed out that in Burnham's first speech as Labour Party leader, he 'not-so-subtly ripped into Thatcher-era policies and decried neoliberal economic policies, which favour globalisation, less regulation and lower taxes. He did not mention Thatcher by name.' It also accused him of 'glossing over the economic slump Thatcher inherited.' Despite this, the New York Post admitted that Burnham 'appears to have made a decent first impression with President Trump.' Sky News Australia's Danica De Giorgio said Burnham was the UK's latest 'village idiot' The Australian said Burnham's strategy of blaming Margaret Thatcher was unwise The New York Post said Burnham is a 'self-described socialist' in its writeup of his appointment to high office Your browser does not support iframes. Following their phone call yesterday, Trump wrote on Truth Social: 'I had a very good conversation with the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Andy Burnham.  'We discussed many subjects, including the outstanding relationship we have had with the UK. 'We will be meeting in the not too distant future for topics of mutual interest.  'The Prime Minister has got a big job ahead of him, but he will be able to do it and, of course, the U.S.A. will be there to help! We discussed North Sea Oil, Trade, the Military Alliance, Demining of the Hormuz Strait, and many other topics.  'The call was interesting, and went very well. I wished Prime Minister Burnham, GOOD LUCK AND GODSPEED!'  Meanwhile, Spain's El Pais newspaper, referring to Burnham's statement on Gaza, said the new leader is 'more calculating than he appears. It added: 'He has consistently avoided defining what happened in Palestine as genocide, limiting himself to referring to "war crimes," thus leaving the legal definition of the conflict to international courts.' Burnham said two weeks ago that his government would 'do more to strengthen our approach', including 'looking at further sanctions, both on those involved in the violence in Gaza, but also looking at measures to ban trade in goods with illegal settlements'. Last night, Burnham purged several Starmer loyalists from his cabinet.  Rachel Reeves and 10 others followed Sir Keir out of the exit door as Burnham made wholesale changes to the Labour Cabinet. The new PM drafted in a swathe of his Northern allies to replace the departing Starmerites in a Cabinet reshuffle that continued until late on Monday night.  Burnham is expected to make further changes to the Government with a reshuffle of junior ministerial ranks. As he sacked Starmer loyalists from Cabinet on Monday, Burnham appointed his own closest allies to replace them at the top of Government. This included Sheffield Heeley MP Louise Haigh as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and First Secretary of State, effectively making her the second most powerful person in Cabinet. Lucy Powell, the Manchester Central MP and Labour deputy leader, was named as Education Secretary, while Knowsley MP Anneliese Midgley was given the role of Chief Whip. There was also a return to Cabinet for Angela Rayner, the Ashton-under-Lyne MP, who was given back her old job as Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary. Prime Minister Andy Burnham appointed John Healey as Chancellor of the Exchequer in 10 Downing Street on July 20, 2026  It came little more than ten months after Ms Rayner quit Sir Keir's administration following her tearful admission that she failed to pay correct stamp duty on a new flat. When she resigned in September last year, Ms Rayner received a £16,876 severance payment from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.  Burnham has appointed a record number of women to the Cabinet, with the number of females outnumbering males for the first time. Of the 23 full members of the Cabinet, including the PM, 12 are women and 11 are men. This is up from 10 women and 13 men in Sir Keir’s final Cabinet. The previous record was 11 women out of 22 full members, set by Sir Keir’s first Cabinet in July 2024. Of the 28 ministers eligible to attend Burnham’s Cabinet – 23 full members and five others – 50 per cent (14) are women. This surpasses the previous record of 48 per cent of all attendees in Sir Keir’s first Cabinet.