Will The Real Andy Burnham Please Stand Up? PM-In-Waiting Prepares To Unveil His Vision For UK |
Will The Real Andy Burnham Please Stand Up? PM-In-Waiting Prepares To Unveil His Vision For UK
He is expected to flesh out his policy ideas in a major speech on Monday.
Political Correspondent
In less than a month’s time, Andy Burnham will become prime minister.
One by one, senior figures who have at least considered succeeding Keir Starmer in No.10 have reached the conclusion that resistance is futile, and thrown their support behind the former mayor of Greater Manchester.
Despite his imminent ascension to the highest office in the land, little is known about what he actually intends to do once he walks through that famous black door.
Of course, he had no need to set out his vision for the country when he was simply campaigning to become the MP for Makerfield.
That is why so many Labour MPs had hoped that his policy ideas would be tested in a leadership contest.
However, the absence of a rival candidate able to muster the support of 81 Labour MPs means little is known about what he will do differently from Keir Starmer when he replaces him as PM on July 17.
An ally told HuffPost UK that Burnham’s plans fall into three categories: abiding by Labour’s 2024 manifesto, pursuing the “Manchesterism” philosophy he pursued in his nine years as mayor, and “reacting” to the events of the day.
Burnham will attempt to flesh out his thinking in a major speech in Manchester – where else? – on Monday.
One Labour MP took issue with the choice of venue.
“He needs to speak to the entire country, not just Greater Manchester,” the MP said. “He should have made the speech in a part of the country where Labour is struggling to get a hearing.
“He needs to start speaking to rural communities, to Scotland, to Wales and parts of the country where we are under immense pressure from Reform, the Conservatives, the Lib Dems and the Greens in........