Six weeks ago Andy Burnham was not even an MP. Now the former mayor of Greater Manchester is the most important political figure in Britain, having orchestrated a bloodless coup against Keir Starmer to become Labour leader unopposed and start his tenure in Downing Street with a radically different approach to communication. A week into the job, Burnham has resisted media scrutiny, doing just three interviews as an MP before becoming prime minister and, since entering No 10, holding only a brief huddle with political editors and several broadcast pool clips. Instead, his early focus has been on social media: answering softball questions on Reddit, appearing alongside viral TikTok stars Bus Aunty and Max Klymenko, and replying to X posts by members of the public. His team say he will take more questions, but it hasn't happened yet.
Before becoming prime minister, Burnham promised to do politics differently. “I want to answer questions honestly in this job … I’m determined to keep working in that way,” he said. But his words now carry greater weight, and he has already been accused of performing U-turns over issues including raising the income tax threshold. “It’s funny, these days you can’t answer a question honestly without then people reading everything else into it,” he said. His critics may call him naive, but his more relaxed style may go down well with the public.
“Six weeks after becoming PM, Andy Burnham’s unorthodox style faces a test as his ally Bev Craig runs to succeed him as Manchester mayor.”
While Burnham settles into No 10, the battle to replace him as mayor of Greater Manchester has been overshadowed by events in Westminster. When the region’s 2 million voters go to the polls this Thursday, it will mark the biggest byelection in British political history. The favourite is Bev Craig, the Manchester city council leader and close Burnham ally, who hopes to become the most powerful Labour woman outside Westminster. “The world is looking to us. The country is looking to what we can achieve. Now is the moment in Greater Manchester to build a place that fights for us, that works for us and creates a future for all of us,” she said at a manifesto launch this month.
Two polls have given Labour a clear lead over Reform UK, which hopes to claim its biggest electoral coup yet after winning more than 100 council seats across Greater Manchester less than three months ago. Yet with Nigel Farage’s focus shifting nearly 200 miles south-east to Clacton, there are doubts as to whether the party will even finish second on Thursday. The Green party is vying to turn its recent Manchester success into its first big seat of power in British politics. However, a YouGov poll published last week put Zack Polanski’s party in third place on 17% of the vote. Party figures believe this significantly underestimates its support, with one saying: “There are still a large number of voters who are undecided, so there is everything to play for as we continue to ramp up our campaign in the final week.”
The outcome of Thursday's byelection will test whether Burnham’s 'different' brand of politics can be sustained beyond Westminster.
