ANDY BURNHAM pledged to “bring back hope” today in his first Commons address since becoming Prime Minister.

Demarcating his approach from the gloom-laden approach of his predecessor, Mr Burnham was relentlessly upbeat in a message to MPs that was nevertheless light on new policy substance.

Britain’s eighth Labour Prime Minister, and the seventh premier in the last 10 years, Mr Burnham reaffirmed that the country had taken a wrong turn 40 years ago, which he aimed to correct.

He said that “political power was centralised, economic power was privatised” and large parts of the country were deindustrialised, with austerity and then Brexit following.

“Far from taking back control, the combination of these policies took control out of the hands of communities up and down Britain,” he said.

“For 40 years, too many places have been drifting. Too many British high streets tell the story of this decline. People yearn to see them restored to what they once were.”

Mr Burnham paid formal tribute to Sir Keir Starmer, who today announced his departure from the Commons, but stressed that he was offering a different programme.

“When it comes to the biggest issues facing the country, the economy and the cost-of-living crisis, people are looking for much more substantial change, as promised in our manifesto, and that is what I will bring,” he said.

“Britain is not where any of us would wish it to be,” he acknowledged, “things are not working as they should,” pledging a “rewiring of the British state.”

In one of the few fresh announcements, he pledged to offer devolution deals to all parts of England, with or without elected mayors to accompany the transfer of powers.

“I have asked No 10 North to begin work with Cornwall council and its six MPs on a devolution deal, with or without an elected mayor,” he told MPs.

“And I today extend the same offer to all parts of England without devolved power.

“The government I lead will be relentless in giving people and places what they were promised 10 years ago, ownership and control, and from that control over their destiny comes change and growth.”

Mr Burnham described a country in the grip of a “failed economic model” and described the private water industry as “a leaking monument to that approach,” but did not elaborate on what he plans to do about it.

Further details must await next month’s budget and the unveiling of Mr Burnham’s 10-year plan at some point in the future.

“Later this year, our 10-year plan for Britain will set out plans for stronger public control over these essentials, making them work for people and places again,” he said, pledging a “pro-business culture.”

Mr Burnham recommitted to “the biggest council-house building” programme, calling it “the Labour way to get the welfare bill down.”

At a cabinet meeting earlier, Mr Burnham said the new government had established “a strong sense of momentum in his first weeks in office.”

A Downing Street spokesman said that the Prime Minister told colleagues that “the country had noticed a change of pace, with the government setting the agenda and starting the process of giving local areas the levers they need to create good growth.

“He said that during his summer tour it was clear that life was hard for many people, but that they wanted to have hope and hear a positive outlook for the country.”

While most Labour MPs cheered their new leader on, Starmerite recidivists are still making their voice heard.

Sacked Downing Street chief secretary Darren Jones warned Mr Burnham not to raise taxes or upset the markets in a newspaper article.

“We must create the right conditions for a dynamic, thriving market,” Mr Jones wrote.

“Politically, we shouldn’t see conflict between growth and fairness, or business and workers, or the market and the state. These are false choices.”