British prime minister in mourning as his father dies after suffering from Alzheimer’s

Andy Burnham is mourning the loss of his father, Roy Burnham, who had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for years and lived in a care facility.

Downing Street announced the news, while the British prime minister suspended all scheduled activities for Monday and Tuesday so he could grieve the death of his father.

Roy Burnham died less than two months after his son took office as prime minister, on July 20. In the days before arriving at Downing Street, Andy Burnham had spoken publicly about the pain he felt because Alzheimer’s had made it impossible for his father to understand his greatest political achievement.

“That is something that makes me sad, because he would have been proud,” Burnham said in July, recalling one of the last visits he had made to his father in the care unit.

The family’s experience with the social care system has also directly influenced the prime minister’s political agenda. It has become one of the main reasons Burnham is seeking sweeping changes in the sector.

After taking office, he promised to reform the social care system, linking that pledge not only to his father’s story but also to the difficulties faced by millions of other people.

Roy Burnham was also a supporter of proportional representation and had spent years trying to persuade his son to change his position on the electoral system. Andy Burnham later moved in that direction, but, because of his father’s deteriorating health, he doubts Roy ever understood that he had ultimately influenced his son’s views.

A day before news of his father’s death became public, the prime minister took part in the Great North Run Half Marathon, in which around 63,000 runners competed. Burnham completed the race in 1 hour and 57 minutes and raised funds for the charity Changing Lives.

As a result of the loss, a meeting planned for Monday at Downing Street with mayors, business leaders and representatives of major companies was also canceled, along with the prime minister’s other engagements.

Andy Burnham’s grief is even greater because his father had a significant influence on his life and political development, but never managed to understand that his son had taken charge of the British government and arrived at Downing Street as Britain’s prime minister.