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.
A change in leadership alone is not going to be enough to win an Election
Andy Burnham may have a nice face and smile but that’s just not enough. A change in leadership alone is not going to be enough to win an Election against Reform. People want to see real change in leadership and direction 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 really not much. He is relying on his reputation as Mayor of Greater Manchester to get him through. However his popularity remains and stays 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, much of the same and 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 even 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 being opportunistic and ultimately ambitious for the top job.
Andy Burnham is not a great speaker nor has he a fast wit which is something that he may lack in the house when facing Badenoch. By contrast Kier Starmer performed well in the house and always found an appropriate response. However the main threat remains Farage and Reform. In reality Labour will find it hard to win back voters already lost to Reform. A personality change is unlikely to be enough in itself.
EU membership could be the issue that wins the next General Election
There has to be a bigger issue that isolates Reform and this has to be EU membership. EU membership could be the issue which wins the next General Election. The country is divided on this matter possibly now in favour of EU membership now that the true cost of Brexit has been felt. A General Election in favour of re-establishing EU membership isolates Farage’s Reform into one area whilst Labour could occupy the other. It takes all other political parties out of the equation and makes it a 50:50 fight between Labour and Reform where a change of small percentages in favour of EU membership may be enough to win.