From NCR:
When Andy Burnham began his term as the United Kingdom’s 59th prime minister on Monday (July 20), he made history — not only for taking office in an unusual way after the resignation of his unpopular predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer, but also for becoming Britain’s first Catholic-born prime minister.
Hundreds of years of restrictions following the English Reformation and institutional bias meant Catholics did not achieve high political offices until relatively recently, and Burnham’s move into the role marks a major shift. Burnham has said on several occasions that his values were shaped by his faith, though in 2015, he said he’s “not particularly religious now.” Back in 2009, he recalled that important influences on him were, in order: the Everton FC soccer team, the Labour Party and the Catholic Church. Constitutionally, his Catholicism matters, too.