The Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has accused Andy Burnham of being a "people pleaser" with "airy fairy" plans, warning that the incoming prime minister does not know "what the country's priorities are" — a stinging assault days before he takes office.
In an interview for Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Badenoch launched a blistering attack on Burnham, who will become PM on Monday after Sir Keir Starmer steps down. Burnham was elected Labour leader unopposed after being backed by 379 Labour MPs and all 11 trade unions, and gave a speech at the TUC headquarters on Friday pledging "the most significant change moment in our politics for 40 years".
“Badenoch brands Burnham a 'people pleaser' with 'airy fairy' plans, says he doesn't know UK priorities.”
He outlined five pledges, including working with other parties in a "distinctively Labour" direction and transferring power from Westminster to local authorities. But Badenoch dismissed the promises as hollow. "What the country needs right now is someone who can take tough decisions, who can face down the Labour MPs that don't want to do anything difficult. And that is what worries me," she said. "I will score as many points as possible if it means the right thing for the country. What I'm not going to do is give Andy Burnham a blank cheque."
The Conservative leader said she liked Burnham personally, calling him a "nice guy", but insisted that "the job is not a popularity contest. It is making the lives of all of the people outside this building better. And he has not said what he's going to do. It's all airy-fairy stuff."
She accused Burnham of speaking only to his party, not the nation. "It was all Labour this, Labour that, their factions, their issues. I'm not sure that he is aware of what the country's priorities are and if he's become prime minister without that then I think he's going to be for a rude awakening," she told the BBC.
Burnham, who returned to Parliament a month ago in a by-election, promised to end point-scoring in Westminster. But Badenoch's broadside signals that the opposition will not give him an easy ride, framing her as a watchdog ready to challenge his every move as he prepares to take office.