𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Let’s hope Andy Burnham is having the time of his life as Prime Minister because next month his honeymoon will come to a crashing end. Wise friends should put an arm around him as he recounts his New York adventure with President Trump and whisper: “Andy, enjoy these days. This is as good as it gets.” The former Mayor of Greater Manchester has inherited Sir Keir Starmer’s giant parliamentary majority, and next week he will address the Labour conference in Liverpool as one of the world’s most powerful figures on the centre-Left. His plotting has paid off, and his dream has come true.

But next month, Chancellor John Healey will stand up in the Commons and deliver a Budget that will remind the country of the grave fragility of the economy. Borrowing surged last month as inflation plays havoc with both Government and household finances. Tax hikes look inevitable, but these will trigger accusations he is “Continuity Keir” – a growth-killing PM who taxes jobs but lacks the political courage to cut welfare spending or invest in defence to deter Moscow.

A hike in capital gains tax could send more entrepreneurs abroad. If he forces more families to pay inheritance tax then he will be pilloried for launching a raid on grieving Britons.

Mr Burnham is in danger if Britons conclude the situation is just as dire as when Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves were at the helm. If the PM cannot persuade citizens he is pointing the nation in a better direction, he risks looking like a ruthless political opportunist who ousted his drab but decent predecessor and is now making a bad situation worse.

If voters believe Number 10 North is an expensive vanity project rather than an engine of growth they will see his torrent of TikTok videos as evidence of egomania. The real threat is not just that Britons lose faith in a PM; it is that they lose faith in the country, in the promise that hard work will be rewarded.

The nation faces a crisis of youth worklessness. A skilled tradesman told me at the weekend how hard it is to convince young workers that learning a craft leads to a life where you can buy a family home and enjoy a holiday once a year.

If the daily grind cannot deliver such a portion of simple happiness, why jump on the treadmill? Mr Burnham is guaranteed applause within the conference hall next week but he needs to reach out far beyond the Labour activists. He must give Britons hope that this will once again be a country where young people can buy a home and start a family without risking bankruptcy.

If he cannot, he will look like a politico living his best life at the nation’s expense. And if voters give Labour another hammering in the spring local elections, then his own MPs will rue the day he won Makerfield.