Andy Burnham’s landmark speech today in Westminster could be a pointer awaited by many to foretell the routeway of the administration of the UK Prime Minister in waiting when it takes off in three weeks hence.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced his resignation on June 22, 2026, following mounting political pressure, heavy local election losses, and policy rebellions within the Labour Party.
Andy Burnham, also of Labour Party, is favoured by many to step in as his successor to become the seventh Prime Minister of Great Britain within a short space of a decade.
He arrived Westminster last week to a heady atmosphere.
For now, he is the most popular man in Westminster. But how long he can hold onto that title depends on what he does next as the political reality sets in.
He has just over three weeks to prepare for power if no one challenges him for the Labour leadership
Hot off his emphatic win in Makerfield, he received a warm reception from Labour MPs who crowded into Parliament’s Westminster Hall to welcome him as a Prime Minister in waiting.
But as the heatwave recedes, the political reality is setting in.
Burnham and his small team have just over three weeks to firm up a programme for Government, to decide on his Cabinet, to staff a new No10 and to build a comms operation.
He is being inundated with ideas from MPs, trade unions and think tanks, all battling for his attention, while ministers jostle to keep their jobs.
Today, we will get the first glimpse of what a Burnham government would look like as he delivers a major speech in Manchester. At its heart will be a radical shift of power out of Westminster, with new powers and funding for mayors, and a pledge to set up a “No10 in the north”.
This is likely to be the thread running through his premiership. Nearly nine years as Mayor for Greater Manchester radicalised him on the unfairness in the system as England’s regions lose out to London and the South East.
In his 2024 book ‘Head North’, he wrote: “Regional and local leaders are constantly required to bid for funding and go on bended knee to the Palace of Westminster. Everyone is kept in their place.
“If we had a more balanced approach, where councils and mayors were dealt some cards too, we would have a much more functional, mature country where no one has to carry round a begging bowl.”
We have been here before. Boris Johnson famously promised to level up Britain and then failed to deliver. Rishi Sunak picked up the mantle but then cancelled the Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2 – while he was in Manchester. Some of the promised cash ended up being funnelled to fix roads in London.
Keir Starmer’s government started this work. Burnham will need to put meat on the bones of his ideas to prove he means business.
Detail on his economic plans will prove critical – and his pick for Chancellor will tell us more than anything about what lies ahead.
Ed Miliband, who has been advising Burnham, is seen as the frontrunner. There’s no question that he would be up to the task but he has his critics, particularly over net zero. His appointment would signal a bolder – and more left-wing – direction.
Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, is also in the frame who may be more financially conservative, or someone like Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden could be seen as a safe pair of hands.
Burnham will face the same economic challenges Starmer did, including cost of living pressures, productivity issues, high debt, sluggish growth, a ballooning welfare bill, rising youth unemployment. It will take enormous political skill to deliver a different outcome.
Another huge challenge is the international stage. Starmer may be remembered best for his foreign policy achievements, which included shoring up support for Ukraine, keeping Britain out of Donald Trump’s Iran war and rebuilding relationship with Europe.
Keir Starmer and Donald Trump struck up a close relationship but things went south after Mr Starmer refused to join the Iran war
He struck up a surprisingly close relationship with Trump, protecting Britain from the worst of the US President’s tariff threats. And he called him out when he needed to – slamming his vile remarks about Nato troops in Afghanistan and standing by Denmark when Trump repeatedly threatened to take over Greenland.
But this came at a cost at home. Critics branded him “never here Keir” and Labour’s attempts to use his actions on Iran to win voters in the run up to the local elections in May failed to land.
Burnham’s views on foreign policy are not yet clear. One top minister I spoke to this week, who has known him for years, said they expected him to remain broadly in line with the Government’s current position on key issues like Ukraine and Nato.
His allies suggest he wants to focus on domestic agenda and plans to spend less time abroad than his predecessor. But with war in Europe and the Middle East, and traditional alliances fraying, this may prove easier said that done.
Who he appoints as Foreign Secretary is another key decision. There has been speculation that former Foreign Secretary David Miliband could return to Government. But could he really have more Milibands than women in the great offices of state?
Burnham is an experienced politician, holding Cabinet posts under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, as well as the Greater Manchester mayoralty, one of the most powerful elected roles outside of Government.
But he’s been out of Westminster for a long time and he has a punishingly short window to get his plans in order.
Labour MPs I spoke to this week were hopeful but also grimly aware that betting on Burnham is a gamble. But what a prize it would be if he succeeds.
NB: Additional information from Mirror
