Statement on the appointment of The Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP as Prime Minister and the appointment of Dame Angela Eagle DBE MP to DEFRA

23 July 2026

PDSA welcomes and warmly congratulates The Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP on his appointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Dame Angela Eagle DBE MP on her appointment as Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

We hope that the Prime Minister and his new Government will agree with us that pets play an incredibly important role in people’s lives and that they will recognise both the contribution pets make to families and communities, as well as the challenges brought about by increasing costs of pet ownership as highlighted in our Petflation Report released earlier this year.

PDSA exists to ensure that financial hardship never prevents owners from accessing veterinary care for their much-loved pets and through our network of more than 40 PDSA Pet Hospitals across the UK, we provide free and low-cost veterinary treatment to eligible pet owners. In the last year alone, we treated more than 422,000 pets and supported more than 339,000 clients, with all services funded entirely by the generosity of public donations.

 

Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP image source: members.parliament.uk
Dame Angela Eagle DBE MP image source: GOV.UK