𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

What is it about Andy Burnham that makes him such a runaway contender for the Labour leadership? Obviously, the simple fact that he is not Starmer is a huge plus. After all, the latest opinion polls paint a grim picture showing only 13% of voters are satisfied with the Prime Minister – the lowest for any leader since the 1970s. Meanwhile, an Opinium survey gives the Mayor of Greater Manchester a net positive approval rating of +10, while Sir Keir languishes at -40.

There’s also the fact – and look away if you’re squeamish – that some women find Andy Burnham irresistibly appealing. Anecdotally I hear it among female friends and colleagues who lurch between wanting to mother him and wanting to seduce him. And even if the Merseyside born politician doesn’t ring your bell, there’s no doubting that given his good head of hair, boyish smile, and eyelashes worthy of any mascara advert, he has undeniable telegenic appeal.

Certainly Burnham’s rugged, slightly ruffled appearance stands in stark contrast with Starmer’s metropolitan polish. While the Labour leader sports sharp tailoring and designer glasses bankrolled by the deep pockets of Lord Ali, Burnham opts for weatherbeaten jackets and hoodies.

It’s the uniform of soap boxes, draughty doorsteps and windy corners. A style that signals, “let’s have a pint,” and speaks directly to Labour’s traditional working-class base.

All of it packaged in his carefully cultivated title: “King of the North”. (The Coat worn by the Greater Manchester mayor when he railed against the area’s Covid-19 restrictions even went on display at Mancehster’s People’s History Museum.)

Yet a troubling question endures: how much of this is an image as confected as the smooth Westminster old boys Burnham is said to despise?

Sure he’s a bonafide local, having been born in Aintree. However, being a northerner myself – a Mancunian, no less – his approach sometimes feels rather performative. Perhaps it was my imagination. But during Burnham’s recent round of fringe and firebomb interviews those Northern vowels of his sounded flatter than ever.

So his tieless reality is motivating his popularity. But is this a connection with authenticity or cleaving to stereotypes? Is this a contrived approach or just an ordinary bloke with a knack to reboot this lame duck government?

Burnham has, of course, got form when it comes moving things around. He has been branded a “political weather vane” by colleagues for flip flopping on his economic views.

As one Labour insider posited of the former cabinet minister: “He’s agreed with so many different views, he’s forgotten his own mind.”

Another suggested this week that Burnham “seems to promote himself every time there’s a perceived crack in the wall… a bit like Japanese knotweed” Ouch.

It’s a situation best summarised by an old joke doing the rounds: “A Blairite, a Brownite and a Corbynite walk into a bar. ‘Hello, Mr Burnham,’ the bartender says.”

From the palatial surroundings of Manchester town hall, it’s fair to say that Burnham has made some genuine rather than photo opportunity contributions to his northern patch – from launching the Bee Network and capping bus fares to piloting A Bed Every Night and Housing First, while standing firm against Westminster during the Covid tier wars.

On the other hand he was at the wheel when Greater Manchester Police was put into special measures for failing to record crimes and his flagship Clean Air Zone plans lost credibility after being watered down.

So while Burnham powers ahead adopting the agenda of bloke ordinaire perhaps it’s time to stop this breathless pageant and give pause.

Remember, if Westminster really is his end game, Burnham will need to snap up a safe Manchester seat in any forthcoming by-election. A move which shifts the dial from grassroots advocacy to naked ambition. In other words, a return to the Commons may serve Burnham’s career, but it would do little for the voters he might represent.

All of which leaves this northerner with a question or two: Will the real Andy Burnham please stand up – or would it be better if he just stood down?