The UK’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham, has dedicated more than 25 years to public service, having first entered politics as Member of Parliament (MP) for Leigh in June 2001.
The so-called 'King of the North' was a cabinet minister – including posts as health secretary, culture secretary and chief secretary to the Treasury, before standing down as an MP to become mayor of Greater Manchester in 2017. He was re-elected to this position in 2021 and 2024.
Burnham resigned as mayor earlier this year, putting himself forward as Labour MP in the Makerfield by-election. He won the seat, which paved the way for him to challenge Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership.
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On 20 June, he took up his post as prime minister (PM) at 10 Downing Street.
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How much will Andy Burnham earn as prime minister?
The UK prime minister is paid a combination of their MP salary – if they have a seat in the House of Commons – and an additional ministerial salary, for serving in the senior post.
From 1 April 2026, an MP’s basic salary is £98,599.31, a rise from £93,904.30 in the previous year.
The current entitled ministerial salary for the prime minister increased from 1 April to £83,837, from £80,807 the previous year.
However, although the PM is legally entitled to that as a ministerial salary, recent PMs have chosen to claim a lower, frozen ministerial salary of £75,440.
Burnham will also receive the standard MP salary of £98,599.31, therefore his total salary is expected to be £174,039.31 – or nearly £9,000 a month after tax.
The higher statutory salary exists in law (increased from April this year) but most ministers continue to claim their pay in line with the long-standing ministerial pay freezes maintained under successive governments.
Several prime ministers, from Margaret Thatcher to Tony Blair, David Cameron to Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer, chose to waive part of their statutory salaries, meaning they received less than the amounts they were entitled to.
How much do other politicians get paid?
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), which sets how much MPs earn, has been undertaking a widescale review of MPs’ pay, seeing how they stack up against other big public sector roles and public figures with comparable roles in other countries.
A pay increase that was effective from April included a 1.5% “benchmarking adjustment” and a 3.5% cost-of-living increase.
IPSA said its analysis suggests MPs should receive a salary of around £110,000 by the scheduled end of the current parliament – which, notwithstanding a snap election or other reasons to dissolve parliament early, is due to end no later than 15 August 2029 (five years after the session first started). The MPs' pay would then likely increase incrementally each year.
IPSA chair Richard Lloyd said: “The role of an MP has evolved. They are dealing with higher levels of complex casework, and abuse and intimidation towards MPs and their staff has been growing.”
How much was Burnham paid as Greater Manchester mayor?
As the mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham earned £118,267, of which he continually donated 15% to charity in a bid to address Manchester’s homelessness problem.
Burnham reiterated the commitment to charity when he took up his post as MP for Makerfield.
In a video on social media, dated 26 June, he said: “One thing I want to continue from my time as mayor of Greater Manchester is donating 15% of my salary. I did that for nine years as mayor to tackle homelessness in Greater Manchester, and I'm going to carry it forward as MP for Makerfield, but this time donating to worthy local causes at the heart of our communities.”
What perks does the PM get?
The role also comes with residence – the flat above number 10 Downing Street. Some have instead opted to live in number 11, which is traditionally the residence of the chancellor. Both flats are rent-free but taxed as a benefit-in-kind.
The PM has to pay a tax liability of about £7,000 a year for electricity, heating and maintenance. They have to pay for their own food and drink, even if it’s prepared by the Downing Street staff and kitchen.
In addition, the PM has access to 16th century country retreat Chequers, a manor house in the Chiltern Hills, southern England. The idea is that it gives the prime minister and their family a place to relax away from Westminster and to entertain. While the residence, staff and upkeep are paid for out of a special fund set aside, PMs must pay for their own food, drinks, and personal entertainment expenses when they are staying there.
The PM is privy to other benefits but they differ from the usual employee benefits. These include additional staff support, security and use of offices and other residences for official government business.
Burnham is not on a small salary. Only one in 100 British taxpayers earn more than that each year.
But it’s not even a remotely competitive salary compared with elsewhere in the higher echelons of the public sector – or even elsewhere in Whitehall.
Senior civil servants and cabinet officials earning more than £174,000 are named on the government website. At latest count in April, there were 542 senior government officials earning more than this amount.
Some of highest-profile names on this list were Richard Knighton, chief of the defence staff – essentially the professional head of the Armed Forces; John Larkinson, chief executive of Office of Rail and Road – head of the national regulator of Britain’s railways; and Nick Ephgrave, director of the Serious Fraud Office.
The new chancellor of the exchequer, John Healey, is entitled to a salary of £75,170 for his role, on top of his £98,599.31 as MP for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough but it's expected that he, too, will voluntarily claim the lower frozen amount of £67,505, bringing his expected total annual pay to £166,104.31.
The BBC’s new director-general, Matt Brittin, will earn £565,000 this year.
The corporation also published its latest list of highest-paid presenters this month.
Former BBC Radio 2 presenter Scott Mills topped the list with an annual salary of £745,000, although he was sacked at the end of March.
BBC Radio 1 Breakfast presenter Greg James follows with £440,000, followed by BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Stephen Nolan, who took home £425,000 in 2025/26. Joint third on the presenter list were political journalist Laura Kuenssberg and broadcaster Vernon Kay, who both earned £405,000.
How does private-sector pay compare?
In the private sector, the average gross annual salary for a UK chief executive is £73,178 but for large blue-chip companies this increases dramatically.
Think-tank High Pay Centre recently revealed that median pay for a FTSE 100 chief executive increased for a fourth consecutive year to £5.06 million in 2025/26 – the highest level on record.
Denise Coates of Bet365 is currently the highest-paid CEO, earning a total package of around £230 million in 2025.
Other high-earning CEOs from different sectors include:
- Pascal Soriot of AstraZeneca, with a total annual pay package of £17.7 million
- Emma Walmsley of GSK, who earned £15.68 million
- CS Venkatakrishnan of Barclays who secured £15.05 million.
