Nearly six years after his viral 'King of the North' speech against Covid restrictions, Andy Burnham returned to the People's History Museum in Manchester to deliver another consequential address—this time as a Prime Minister-in-waiting. Wearing what he called his 'Manchester clothes'—a dark T-shirt and jacket—he quipped, 'sorry Kemi,' referencing Tory leader Kemi Badenoch's jibe at him as 'a pair of eyelashes and a black T-shirt' during PMQs.
Relaxed and Confident on Home Turf
Burnham was relaxed and confident, displaying the easy charm that supporters say makes him able to win people over on the doorstep. Unsurprisingly, he was on home turf, surrounded by backers like Deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell and long-time friend Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Liverpool City Region. 'He's got more about him than people give him credit,' one Manchester ally told reporters. 'The idea that he's changed since being here isn't right. I think he came back to who he always was.'
Vision for a Burnham Government
His speech began to sketch out a picture of what a Burnham government would look like. It starts with the promise of the 'biggest rebalancing of power we have ever seen,' driven by a new No10 North. Place first, with local leaders deciding what's best in their area on key issues like housing, infrastructure, utilities, and welfare. It's a decade-long vision, acknowledging that some problems gripping Britain are so deep-rooted and structural that it would take more than one term to fix.
Laudable as that is, he'll need some eye-catching wins in the short term to convince voters and MPs that it was worth changing Prime Minister. His programme is ambitious and there's a lot of detail missing on how he would achieve it. But for now he's trying to give a sense of what he wants to do with power.
Unanswered Questions and Fast-Moving Transition
It might feel jarring to the public watching him talk about a programme for Government only a week after Keir Starmer resigned. But it's necessary when the transition of power is moving at lightning speed. A week ago Burnham was on the train to London to be sworn in as an MP, and now he's preparing to become Prime Minister on July 20, if no rival emerges. He urgently needs to explain what he plans to do with that power.
There are a lot of unanswered questions—and Burnham didn't take any from journalists after his speech. That was a mistake. He needs to demonstrate that he is open to fair scrutiny. We don't know what he thinks on foreign policy, defence, immigration, the NHS, social care. We don't know what his tax plans are, or who would be in his Cabinet. He will need to come up with answers on some of these questions and fast.
A Clear Message Amid Skepticism
But one of the criticisms levelled at Keir Starmer was that he struggled to articulate what he really stood for. Burnham isn't planning to make the same mistake. His message was loud and clear. People might not agree with it but he made it clear the political direction is set. It's easy to be sceptical of politicians promising hope and change. Leaders of all political stripes do it, and few really deliver. Burnham will have a job of work to do to persuade jaded voters that he's different to the PMs that came before. But that doesn't mean people shouldn't hope for better. What is the point in politics otherwise?
