To find Andy Burnham’s sudden rise to the top odd?

I think he initially said ‘if I’m needed’. That was a while back can’t remember exactly when.

But it wasn’t until much closer that him being PM would happen. For a start Starmer was trying to use whatever to block it happening. The NEC etc

Burnham definitely has a better grasp of how to use SM. For example his video mocking Badenoch's "eyelashes and black tee shirt" comment.

My view is that Burnham, similar to Boris in some ways, is an opportunist - the need to please, the mercurial nature, the fleeting commitment to a particular cause of political opportunity

I agree to a certain extent. 😲 But most politicians have elements of these traits/flaws in their personalities. Burnham has more morals than Johnson and is generally a much better person though, IMHO.

Thank you.

I have not seen him ‘tipped’ as a PM, and he only rolled the dice recently following Labour’s disastrous showing in the May local and devolved elections.

“This is the job in politics I truly want,” Burnham said in 2018, of the mayoralty he had already held for a year. “Because, in a way I could never be in Westminster, this job brings out the real me.” Westminster, he added for good measure, “makes a fraud out of you”.

My view is that Burnham, similar to Boris in some ways, is an opportunist - the need to please, the mercurial nature, the fleeting commitment to a particular cause of political opportunity.

I want to see how Andy Burnham is going to control the narrative. The media has been so fast and hounding all recent PMs and then some of the public chimes in further on social media with all this fashion for direct commenting.
The younger generation seems to respond more to direct posts from politicians short online stuff. So I want to see if Burnham is going to do things really differently and reach the groups online directly that Reform have been working on via social media.

@Bullandbear
A c&p of my post from last night
"To be fair I should have said "had a go at" "been keen on the idea" "others have suggested" rather than "tipped" but hes certainly not suddenly appeared as a prospect from nowhere. Not that Im a fan tbh"

Due to having had a look to find my other comment on this thread I can see lots of comments from you demonstrating that you are clearly very interested in politics which makes your comment even more surprising to me.

Here is a quote from an article from 2021 when he was re-elected as the mayor of Greater Manchester:
"Mr Burnham's popularity has seen him become the bookmakers' favourite to become the next Labour leader, even though he is not in the Commons" - as a precursor to being the PM.
Elections results 2021: Andy Burnham re-elected as Greater Manchester mayor - BBC News

I will ignore the patronising question.

Reread the PP:
He’s been tipped as a likely future PM for years.

I ask again, when/where has been tipped as a likely future PM for years (hint: look at his career path).

I look forward to your response.

Do you never read/hear/see the news? Hes been a prominent name in politics at a national level since about 2010 and locally as an MP for 10 years prior to that.

Yes he was on TV a lot in Covid. It is odd he was not an MP until recently though and his views on TWAW are awful though I like some of his policies

I wish we had Shabana Mahmood instead.

Nor was John Major.

It was when they were in power. He was in the cabinet under Gordon Brown.

And I believe polling out today shows the public think he’s more ready to be P.M than either Kemi Badenboch or Nigel Farage, although TBF it looks like the public don’t think much of any of them: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/andy-burnham-prime-minister-poll-b3005843.html

Well you know Liz Truss got into power after an internal election, and how did that go? 😂 It's not always a given that that route would somehow naturally yield better results

That's right, and he was beginning to be touted as a possible future PM then.

I'd never heard of him either...

Burnham's only really known by northerners and bra retailers.... He's got quite a pair :)

All that good northern living catching up with him :)

How had you never heard of Andy Burnham? Seriously? He was on the news a lot during covid.

I agree. Scotland is certainly North. And as for Ms S. Incredulous.

On the subject of cats, Larry the Cat must be 19 now and has survived 6 PMs.

My advice to Burnham would be 10 Downing Street “Mid North” needs its own cat, first and foremost.

“Thanks. Badenoch completely denied she would do such a thing a few days ago IIRC. So she is at odds with her MPs it seems.”

Why would she possibly want that at this point- pardon my ignorance, but is Nigel Farage not being investigated for taking a 5 million -ahem “gift” under code 5? https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmcode/1076/107604.htm

Sanctions can include apology all the way to expulsion.

Does scotland count as North and sturgeon's husband count as a politician?

He's VERY Fat... Though, not a cat, more a con.

She "knew nothing"... 😁

If course, love, of course....

He's one of the few politicians left who haven't been caught fiddling with stamp duty or people.

They like a good fiddle these politicians....

The bar is desperately low now.

Nor was Gordon Brown. It's not just the Tories who do it. It's just that Labour are in power so rarely that they've not done it as often!

May, Johnson, Truss, Sunak. None were ever LOP before becoming PM.

he's got LOADS of relevant experience, including high level ministerial posts! He's much better equipped than most former PMs.

I don't think that's true - he was Secretary of State for Health for less than a year. His other positions were lower down the pecking order - neither has he served as Leader of the Opposition.

North and South?

From Manchester, having seen what he has done for the city over the last 10 years, I could see this was an inevitable outcome. He's not just come out of nowhere.