Rosa Prince

“You may think you’re going to be loved, but you’re not going to be.” That was the somewhat unsettling warning Tony Blair gave to his former acolyte Andy Burnham — the man who will, in just a few days, follow in his footsteps by becoming the UK’s 58th prime minister.

Phew! That’s a relief. After weeks of speculation that Britain’s incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham was planning to put his friend Ed Miliband in charge of the nation’s finances, word on the street is that the Chancellor of the Exchequer job will instead go to self-described “fiscal hawk” Shabana Mahmood.

There are moments in history when the world shifts on its axis. In British politics, it’s generally agreed that the years 1945, 1979 and 1997 were such pivot points, era-defining departures from what had come before.

One recent survey found only 48% of 16- and 17-year-olds felt getting the vote at their age was a “good idea.”

Pity the poor British teen as they try to work out what they’re legally allowed (and not allowed) to do as they enter adulthood. They can get married on their 16th birthday, but only with their parents’ consent. They wouldn’t be able to drive to the...

You have to hand it to Andy Burnham — the brand-new UK prime minister loves a surprise. After days of Westminster scuttlebutt that the contest to become his chancellor of the exchequer was a two-horse race between “fiscal hawk” Shabana Mahmood and soft-left market frightener Ed Miliband, he’s opted for one of the outside bets.

The UK's new prime minister has made a deft choice in the face of a fiscal challenge. Will John Healey's reputation for fiscal caution help contain bond-market anxiety over the government's big promises?

For Louise Haigh, revenge is sweet. Two days before her 39th birthday, and less than two years after being forced to quit the UK government in disgrace, she was appointed de facto deputy to new Prime Minister Andy Burnham. Officially, she’s Britain’s most powerful woman.

“I would never forgive myself if I hadn’t tried.” So said new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham as he set out his mission to resolve the seemingly intractable question of how to fund adult social care in a rapidly aging, already over-taxed society.

Nigel Farage has spent the summer arguing with a trashcan. For a time it seemed that the hard-right populist’s attempt to distract from a sleaze scandal by calling an unnecessary special election in his English seaside constituency of Clacton would become a national joke.