After decade of chaos, UK's ruling Labour Party gambles on Andy Burnham

In those 10 years, British leaders have struggled to articulate a clear direction while failing to energise a low-growth economy that is hamstrung by high debts and a growing welfare bill at a time of rising threats around the globe.JUNE 2016: UK VOTES FOR BREXIT, PM CAMERON QUITSBritons cause a global shock by voting 52%-48% to leave the EUafter more than 40 years, plunging their country into its biggest political crisis since World War Two. Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron resigns and the party chooses Theresa May to succeed him.JUNE 2017: SNAP ELECTION GAMBLE BACKFIRESRiding high in opinion polls and seeking a bigger majority in parliament to push ‘Brexit’ legislation through, May calls a snap election. The Conservatives lose their majority and can only govern by striking a deal with Northern Ireland’s pro-UK Democratic Unionist Party.MAY 2019: BREXIT PARALYSIS, MAY RESIGNS, JOHNSON TAKES OVERMay quits after failing to break a parliamentary deadlock over the terms of Britain’s departure from the EU. Boris Johnson, one of the main faces of the pro-Brexit campaign, wins the internal Conservative Party contest to succeed her.DECEMBER 2019: JOHNSON LEADS CONSERVATIVES TO SWEEPING WINWith parliament paralysed over Brexit, Johnson calls a snap election. Campaigning under the slogan “Get Brexit Done”, he steers the Conservatives to their biggest election win since Margaret Thatcher’s landslide victory in 1987.JANUARY 2020: BREXIT GETS DONEJohnson uses his mandate to drive a Brexit deal through parliament and Brussels, and Britain exits the EU on January 31, 2020, the first state to withdraw from the bloc.JULY 2022: JOHNSON OUSTEDJohnson leads Britain during the COVID-19 pandemic - at one point being admitted to hospital himself with the disease - but a long list of scandals and missteps proves too much and he steps down after a ministerial revolt.SEPTEMBER 2022: TRUSS’ CHAOTIC PREMIERSHIPLiz Truss beats Rishi Sunak in a contest to succeed Johnson. Her “mini-budget” containing unfunded tax cuts spooks financial markets, sending borrowing costs soaring and further tarnishing Britain’s reputation for political and fiscal stability. She lasts only 44 days before resigning.OCTOBER 2022: SUNAK BECOMES PRIME MINISTERSunak takes over as Britain’s third prime minister in as many months, pledging to restore stability. He makes five key pledges focused on the economy, stopping illegal immigration and improving the health system. In February 2023, he strikes a deal with the EU on trade rules for Northern Ireland, improving ties with the bloc.MAY 2024: SUNAK CALLS ELECTIONTrailing the Labour Party by around 20 points in the polls, and with parliament’s five-year term limit approaching, Sunak calls an election for July 4.JULY 2024: STARMER BECOMES PRIME MINISTER“We said we would end the chaos and we will,” Labour Party leader Keir Starmer tells supporters on July 5, 2024, after winning a landslide victory, but with the smallest share of the vote of any majority government in modern history.AUGUST 2024: STARMER WARNS ‘THINGS WILL GET WORSE’Starmer says his government has inherited “an economic black hole” in state finances and tells voters “things will get worse before they get better”.OCTOBER 2024: LABOUR’S FIRST BUDGETFinance minister Rachel Reeves announces tax rises worth £40 billion ($53 billion) a year, primarily by raising employers’ social security contributions, putting the tax burden on course to reach its highest level on record in peacetime and prompting an outcry from businesses.FEBRUARY 2025: NIGEL FARAGE’S REFORM UK SURGESRight-wing anti-immigration party Reform UK overtakes Labour in a national opinion poll for the first time. Reform UK, led by Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, has led surveys ever since.JUNE 2025: REBELLION FORCES STARMER U-TURN ON WELFAREStarmer is forced to reverse plans to cut Britain’s welfare bill after his own lawmakers threaten to defeat the government.SEPTEMBER 2025-APRIL 2026: MANDELSON SCANDALPressure on Starmer builds over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington. Mandelson is sacked over his ties to the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and questions arise over Starmer’s judgment and the vetting process.MAY 2026: LOCAL ELECTION DISASTERThe Labour Party suffers heavy losses in English local elections and votes for the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, with Reform UK the main beneficiary, deepening questions over Starmer’s ability to govern.MAY/JUNE 2026: SENIOR MINISTERS RESIGNHealth minister Wes Streeting quits, saying he has lost confidence in Starmer. A few weeks later, defence minister John Healey resigns, accusing Starmer of failing to commit the money needed to keep Britain safe from mounting threats.JUNE 2026: ANDY BURNHAM SHOWS HE CAN BEAT REFORM UKGreater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham wins an election for a parliamentary seat in the north of England, trouncing Reform UK in the process. His return to the Westminster parliament allows him to mount a challenge to Starmer’s leadership of Labour.Three days later, Starmer quits as Labour Party leader, saying that, after listening to party, he has realised he is no longer the man who should lead it into the next national election, due by 2029.JULY 2026: BURNHAM BECOMES LABOUR LEADERIn the absence of any challenger, Burnham secures the leadership of the ruling party when a huge majority of Labour lawmakers nominate him, putting him in line to lead the government.($1 = 0.7581 pounds)(Reporting by Sarah Young and Muvija M; Editing by Gareth Jones and Kevin Liffey)