It’s time to give Andy Burnham the credit he deserves. He has fought an accomplished, ferocious campaign.
On Thursday, 75,000 voters in Makerfield will effectively decide the future of the country. If Reform wins, we face the national humiliation of a Nigel Farage government. It’ll feel unstoppable.
But if Burnham wins, there is finally a fighting chance to change things for the better. Who would have thought that this man, who was once a plain and rather uninspiring New Labour minister, would one day become the great hope against the darkness? But he has shown the kind of grit and determination which can win general elections.
There is a strange disparity between the character of Burnham’s campaign and the coverage of it – particularly from progressives, who seem inoculated against any kind of optimism whatsoever. Much of the commentary around Burnham seems underwhelmed to the point of disdain.
The by-election campaign has indeed shone a fierce spotlight on him. On key liberal issues like Brexit, immigration and trans rights, he has walked back his previous support. This does not simply matter on its own terms. It is about whether Burnham can provide the moral and political leadership which Keir Starmer has singularly failed to deliver. Can he stand up against the rightward drift of British society? Will he protect the minority groups? Will he have the confidence to stand up for what’s right rather than what is expedient? His behaviour in this respect has not been particularly encouraging.
