The BBC reports that Andy Burnham is set to become the UK Prime Minister just as Keir Starmer prepares to deliver his final speech from No. 10 Downing Street.
It remains to be seen just how ambitious Andy Burnham will be—or how much of his agenda he can actually deliver. His task is far from easy: he inherits a Starmer administration that has failed over the past two years, and his first priority must be to dispel the public’s deep-seated resentment toward the Labour Party. We shall see how he manages this, but he will certainly need to overhaul a significant portion of the cabinet—particularly the Chancellor. Rachel Reeves may have had good intentions, but good intentions alone cannot solve problems, and she failed to do so. The UK has found itself in an increasingly precarious position due to economic woes, including business closures and the flight of millions of people and vast amounts of wealth.
Burnham must halt this exodus, stop the wave of business closures, and restore public trust. These issues cannot be resolved simply by talking about “revolution.” Keir Starmer has secured his future after his two-year premiership and will likely watch the country from afar while enjoying a substantial pension.
Now is the time for action. We will be looking at what Burnham actually does—not just what he says—and we must remain realistic rather than idealistic.
Finally, let us also remind Burnham of this: governing a city is easy, but governing a country is not quite so easy.