Britain has swapped out another prime minister, and the counter is spinning ever faster. If you count correctly, this is the seventh head of government on the Island since 2016. A country that likes to pass for a pillar of stability, yet changes prime ministers almost as often as it changes seasons.

According to reports, Andy Burnham (56) has been formally appointed prime minister of the United Kingdom, after King Charles III summoned him to Buckingham Palace to form a new government. He succeeds Keir Starmer, who left Downing Street saying his work was done and that Britain remains stronger and fairer than he found it.

Burnham is no newcomer to politics. He previously served as health secretary and culture secretary in earlier Labour governments, and since 2017 he has been mayor of Greater Manchester. There he earned a nickname that rarely sticks to a politician, the King of the North, precisely because he so often stood up to the central government in London and demanded more money and powers for the north of England.

Now he is promising a ten-year plan to restructure Britain and urgent measures for citizens struggling with the high cost of living. He is also promising decentralisation - pushing more power down from London to local authorities.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Every new prime minister arrives with a plan for ten years, and almost none of them stays long enough to see it through. The question for Burnham is not whether he has an idea, but whether he will have any time at all. On the Island lately the terms are short, and the voters' patience shorter still.