When Andy Burnham gets the keys to Downing Street on Monday morning, the seventh UK prime minister in a decade, he will have the pleasant task of allocating new ministerial jobs. Then the real work begins as he faces the task of reshaping Britain’s broken politics and struggling economy.
On Friday, the upbeat new leader of the Labour Party promised a turning point – “the biggest change moment in 40 years of British politics”. He pledged to rule in a “distinctively Labour”,“unashamedly Labour way”, blaming “this generation of politicians” for abandoning control of the essentials like housing, water, energy and transport and leaving people exposed to higher costs.
He promised economic renewal, more public control, reindustrialisation, and to rebrand the party, eliminating factionalism and divisions within the cabinet by respecting all shades of opinion.
There is no doubt that Burnham is a welcome breath of fresh air who brings with him a strong record as mayor of Greater Manchester, where he had some success in stimulating growth and productivity on the back of major investment.
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His promise now is of “Manchesterism” for the nation, devolution to the regions, bringing power to “the place where you live”, and long-term planning and investment for the neglected North. He said he would be a leader “for the north, the south, the east and the west; for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland”.
So much for the rhetoric – what about the substance? There are only hints at his detailed strategy. The challenges that brought down Keir Starmer remain: a budget unable to meet desperately needed demand in defence, housing, welfare, care for the aged, and training for the young.
Burnham will be hamstrung by a commitment to abide by strict fiscal rules. His instinct may be to tack to the left, but he is already trying to prove that, like Starmer, whatever he told parliamentarians to secure the job, he will govern from the centre. Continuity is the order of the day
Markets will watch his appointment as chancellor of the exchequer. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is tipped and would be seen as reassuringly centrist and financially responsible. Her rival for the job, Ed Milliband, may end up in the Foreign Office.
Politically, Burnham has a massive hill to climb ahead of a general election due by 2029 at the latest. Five parties hover between 12 and 24 per cent in the polls, with Labour and the Conservatives each trailing on 19 per cent, five points behind Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. Burnham’s communication skills and background give him an edge to start to regain ground in the Red Wall seats where Reform has routed Labour. Many of Labour’s 403 nervous MPs fear it may already be too late. Burnham has time to prove them wrong, but the job he faces is immense.
