Andy Burnham is preparing to step into 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister, reports BritPanorama.
Whitehall is also anticipating a potential high-profile political handover: what will happen to Larry the Cat, the iconic Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office?
The famous tabby has been a resident outside the iconic black door for over a decade.
What will happen to Larry the Cat?
Rest assured, Larry – who is estimated to have been born around 2007, making him 19 years old – is not packing his bags.
Larry does not belong to Sir Keir Starmer, and he will not be moving out when the outgoing Prime Minister leaves office.
While Starmer and his family will take their personal pets with them – including rescue cat JoJo and kitten Prince – Larry is staying right where he is.
Larry’s official job title is Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, and he is classified as a civil servant rather than a personal pet.
Adopted from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home in 2011, Larry’s care and upkeep are managed by Downing Street staff, not individual politicians.
Having served under David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak, and Keir Starmer, Andy Burnham will be the seventh Prime Minister Larry has welcomed to the doorstep.
At 19 years old, the veteran mouser remains the true, permanent landlord of No10.
Will Burnham bring any new pets into No10?
Burnham is a known dog lover, and he and his family own Axel, a rescue Bichon Poo (a Bichon Frise and Poodle mix) adopted from Dogs Trust.
It remains unclear whether Axel will relocate permanently to London or stay at the family home in Greater Manchester.
Burnham plans to divide his working week between London and the North, so Axel may remain settled in Manchester to avoid the stress of frequent long-distance travel.
Larry has previously shared Downing Street with dogs, including Johnson’s Jack Russell cross Dilyn and Sunak’s Fox Red Labrador Nova, so he is well-versed in standing his ground.
Will No10 North get a ‘Chief Mouser’?
One of Andy Burnham’s flagship commitments is the creation of No10 North, a new executive government office based in Manchester to decentralise power from London.
This has led to speculation over whether the northern outpost will appoint its own official pest controller.
Currently, there are no official plans to appoint a dedicated “Chief Mouser North.”
However, local animal shelters in Greater Manchester have suggested that establishing a new headquarters presents a perfect opportunity to adopt a local rescue animal.
Whether No10 North gets its own feline civil servant remains to be seen.
But for now, Larry holds a monopoly on the title of Chief Mouser and shows no signs of relinquishing his crown.
As the UK prepares for this political transition, the juxtaposition of a long-standing feline presence against the backdrop of human political maneuvering highlights the enduring nature of tradition amid change.
