Andy Burnham waltzed into Number 10 on Monday, a little over one month after his shotgun win in the Makerfield by-election. Off the back of 25,000 Mancunian voters, the new Labour leader feels he has his mandate to remake a fractured country. Never before has so much been inflicted by so few upon so many. Yes, on paper, ours is a parliamentary democracy where we vote for the party, not the head honcho as in a presidential system.
Still, this is a convenient lie we tell ourselves. Deep down we know a vote for any party's MP is a vote for that party's leader. When Reform voters select a Reform MP at the next election they do so knowing and willing that Nigel Farage becomes Prime Minister. And yes, a ruling party – like Labour – can legitimately change leader without calling an election but only if said leader is essentially continuing the former master's work.
If Burnham really is sticking to Sir Keir's 2024 manifesto then what was all this guff yesterday about a Soviet-style ten-year plan? That's not continuity. Both for the country's sake - and for the new PM, who otherwise will have Starmer's legacy hanging around his neck like a mill stone – Burnham must go to the people.
After all, it is what he demanded of the Tories when they kept chopping and changing leaders not so long ago. The reason Burnham refuses to do so is obvious. Despite an early poll bounce – including one poll having Labour and Reform tied – Burnham knows there is every chance he will lose a snap election.
Even with the fishing expedition against Nigel Farage, and unprecedented Establishment pile-on, Reform clearly still has the momentum in popular opinion. The Makerfield by-election was an exception, not a new rule.
Steady Eddy John Healey may be a safe pair of hands as Chancellor, and the bond markets and defence bods will be temporarily pleased, but give it time. The immigration crisis, growing lawlessness and the exodus of wealth creators will get worse under a PM who thinks vibes are enough to win over a powerless public.
We need an election but, before that, we need to know exactly what our new Prime Minister intends to do. A lot of windy soundbites and softball interviews yesterday were one thing. Governing without a mandate is quite another. It's time Burnham came clean.
