As Andy Burnham strode onto the stage in the Trades Union Congress Hall on Friday, decked out in suit and tie, having eschewed his “Manchester clothes” of a navy t-shirt and jacket, the bloodless coup was complete.
Standing in front of a deep red backdrop, he delivered perfunctory praise to the man he had just ousted, hailing Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership of the Labour Party, taking it from “our worst defeat to one of the best victories in our history”.
“Keir put Labour back in a position to change people’s lives,” Burnham said, without acknowledging why he was now assuming control of the reins from Starmer, just two years on from a Labour landslide.
Shorts
Yet, while the transfer of power at the top of the party has been peaceful, the appointment of his cabinet risks being anything but; with the selection of his chancellor – the second most powerful position in the Government – in danger of sparking a fresh round of bloodletting inside Labour.
