Thursday, January 22, 2026

The problem with the idea of Andy Burnham swooping from his northern fortress to save the country by taking over from Keir Starmer is not that Labour's national executive might refuse to allow him to stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election – although it may require him to keep his promise to serve his full term as mayor of Greater Manchester until 2028.

Nor is the problem that Burnham might not win the by-election. Reform is given a 40 per cent chance by the bookmakers, and 30 per cent of the electorate is Muslim, which means the Green Party or the Workers Party could split the Labour vote. 

No, the real problem with Burnham is that it is not obvious that he is the answer to either the Labour Party or the country's problems. His advocacy of proportional representation, citizens' assemblies and abolishing party whips seem beside the point.

Above all, his comment repeated this week about not wanting to be "in hock to the bond markets", suggests that there is a touch of Liz Truss about him. 

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