Will Andy Burnham shake up the UK’s China policy if he becomes prime minister?

Clearing the way for the selection of the UK’s seventh prime minister in a decade, Starmer announced on Monday his intention to step down

, succumbing to mounting pressure within his Labour Party as his popularity dwindled.

If there is no leadership contest, the relatively popular Burnham could take office as early as July. Should one take place, a new Labour leader would be elected and become prime minister by September.

Public discontent with the Starmer government has centred largely on economic and cost-of-living issues, which are also likely to be the main challenges facing his successor, according to Cui Hongjian, a former diplomat and a research fellow at Beijing Foreign Studies University’s Country and Area Studies Academy.