Andy Burnham’s path to power is a triple obstacle race. First, as a prerequisite, he has to persuade the recently Reform-voting electorate to back him and Labour in the Makerfield by-election.
If he gets over that fence on 18 June, he will next have to rally the support of MPs from Labour’s left who have been straining to force out Sir Keir Starmer. If the current Prime Minister sticks by his threat to force a contest, Burnham will also have to win over Labour activists and trade unions as well.
When and if Burham gets through all that, his real job will only just be beginning. He will face the challenge of leading the nation and convincing voters across the spectrum that he is the credible prime minister that they have decided Starmer is not – and one worthy of leading Labour to re-election.
Not surprisingly, Burnham is proceeding with caution at this early stage of his long climb. He is making few firm policy commitments. A crowd pleaser on the first leg may prove a hostage to fortune later on. What appeals to a hard-pressed homeowner in Wigan may not tickle the fancy of a flat-hopping special advisor from Hackney.
There is one policy area ripe for seizing which could be a universal crowd pleaser. Burnham should put the boot into Donald Trump and his motley crew of sycophants – Elon Musk, JD Vance, Pete Hegseth and the rest – for their repeated interventions into British politics, and their distortions of what is going on in this country.
