𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The headline screamed: “Does Andy Burnham Have the Bottle?” Never mind what the question is, the answer’s a big fat NO. Because Andy Burnham doesn’t have bottle. Period! 

It’s why he’d make a terrible Prime Minister – even worse than Starmer if that’s possible. The question of course was, does he have the bottle to stand for the Greater Manchester seat MP Andrew Gwynne is vacating which would allow him back into Parliament to launch a leadership bid against our deadbeat PM?

But don’t forget Burnham has stood for the Labour leadership twice before and both times was rejected – because he simply wasn’t good enough. He’s a decent enough bloke but, just like Starmer, he’s lacklustre, he’s cowardly and he isn’t a leader – which is why being Manchester Mayor has been perfect for him. He’s a big fish in a small pond but he’s not political stage centre and the job doesn’t require him to be all fire and brimstone. In short – it’s an easy political life with generous perks.

The question is, is he prepared to chance all that on the prize of Downing Street? I suspect he desperately wants to – why else stand twice for the party leadership? – but the reason he still won’t say whether he’s going to go for it is because he’s unsure and scared – and we don’t want another scared, unsure PM.

But even to get back into Parliament, Burnham first needs to get through the tough selection process to be a candidate where he’ll be interviewed by Starmer acolytes. Then he needs to actually win the by-election. And if he loses that Manchester seat to Reform, he’ll have lost everything.

There are even rumours Labour’s National Executive Committee could block his bid and I’m betting Burnham hopes they do, then he won’t have to make the decision. He can say: “I really wanted the job – but they wouldn’t let me.” And he can go back to being King of the North on his six-figure salary (plus expenses).

We must pray that happens because Burnham is not the man to rescue this hopeless, shambolic, indecisive Government. Or this country. He’s Starmer 2.0. And don’t forget this is the man who wants higher taxes, higher spending and higher borrowing – everything that’s made this current government detested more than any other!