Andy Burnham is the wrong man to lead the Labour Party. His ideas are vague and do not demonstrate any significant change in approach to that of Sir Kier Starmer. If Labour believe that a simple figurehead change is going to be enough to offer them success in the next General Election then they are misguided. Andy Burnham may have a nice face and smile but that’s just not enough. People want to see real change in leadership but repeatedly Burnham has backed himself into a corner even before being crowned as Leader. He has dropped his commitment to rejoin the EU ( massive mistake), he is aligning himself to the financial obligations of Starmer and he wants to usurp his responsibilities by asking for greater control by regional mayors. So after this what has he got left to tackle Farage: well not much. He is relying on his reputation as Mayor of Greater Manchester to get him through. However his popularity remains and stay there in Greater Manchester: it doesn’t necessarily extend beyond the Manchester region.
So why did Burnham maneuver to take down Starmer if he is basically offering, well not that much difference. Was it simply vanity and ambition? Like Bozza before him the appeal of the status and prestige was simply too alluring. Burham has kept his policies to himself possibly because they are just too vague. He has abandoned many of the causes that he has previously championed: rejoining the EU being one of them. Politically he is like a chameleon serving under many with diverse and opposing political ethos’ . However he has certainly been ever present which makes you question if he has any really strong beliefs or whether he is just been opportunistic and ultimately ambitious for the top job.
Andy Burnham us not a great speaker nor has he a fast wit which is something that he may lack in the house when facing Badenoch.