TAOISEACH Micheál Martin has congratulated Andy Burnham on becoming Prime Minister.
Mr Burnham replaced Sir Keir Starmer as the British Prime Minister yesterday, after becoming Labour leader last week.
The former mayor of Greater Manchester is the country's fourth prime minister in five years and the seventh since 2016.
In his first speech as Prime Minister, Mr Burnham promised to make his appointment to the role a “circuit-breaker” for Britain.
“I am acutely conscious that I am the sixth person in the last ten years to walk up this street, the seventh Prime Minister since 2016, making this a moment for reflection and new resolution,” the Prime Minister said.
“It requires my generation of politicians to raise our game, and rise to the new challenge,” he added.
Andy Burnham became Prime Minister of Britain yesterday“Britain needs to show the world that we can regain our stability once again, and that is our challenge, to make politics work, to make it work better.
“I know people at home are fed up with politics. I hear you. And I want to be honest with you. We have not been good enough, and we need to be better.
“We will be. We will make this moment a circuit breaker for Britain, bringing forward the biggest changes in the last forty years.”
Congratulating the new Prime Minister, the Taoiseach said he was “looking forward to working with him to further strengthen the partnership and friendship between our two countries”.
“Our relationship has deepened further in recent years with annual UK-Ireland Summits, and our respective roles as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement,” he added.
“We will also work to facilitate a stronger relationship between the UK and European Union.”
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has welcomed the appointmentThe Taoiseach explained: “During his time as Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy was a great champion of deeper links between Ireland and Britain.
“It has been a pleasure to meet him on several occasions, including during his visits to Ireland last year.
“I will work with Prime Minister Burnham to ensure that close cooperation between Ireland and the UK delivers real tangible benefits for people, communities and businesses right across these islands.”
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