At some stage in this steamy, unforgiving summer, a meeting will take place of two Kings – and the divisions that characterise modern Britain will be made flesh.
When, as looks certain, Andy Burnham – the styled King of the North – goes to Buckingham Palace to receive his official invitation to become Prime Minister from the actual King of England, it promises to be a culture clash, of some dimension, between North and South, elected and inherited power, informality and formality, Uniqlo and ermine; between the working class and the aristocracy.
When Burnham accedes to power, he will become the first Prime Minister since Robert Peel in 1841 to come from the North-west of England: the original engine of the nation’s industrial wealth, the UK’s third largest regional economy, and still responsible for 13 per cent of the country’s GDP. And yet, no Prime Minister in 185 years. Only four Prime Ministers have ever come from the North of England. Harold Wilson was the last one – he left office in 1976.
So, for those of us who have felt unrepresented – even just geographically and culturally – for the past 50 years, Andy Burnham – whether or not he has a firm grasp on the detail of the fiscal rules, or if he is too left wing, or too Blairite, or if he is more style than substance (all of which are about to be tested) – is good news.
