What is so great about Andy Burnham?

[jeanne16]

Just that really. I keep hearing what a great job he has done as mayor but never hear any examples of what he has done.

Btw Boris Johnson was quite a successful mayor of London and we all know how that turned out.

There is a serious dearth of talent going into politics now.

Not saying that I would be good at it, but the money isn't good enough to bring in the really clever people (who would earn double or treble an MP's salary in industry or finance). I earned nearly as much as an MP earns now, in 1998, freelance. Fewer constituencies and better paid.

This ^^

I work in politics- when people find out I am a Manc in politics the next question is always ‘do you know Andy Burnham?’ (I do)

people of all ages / races / sexes / backgrounds tell me ‘Andy Burnham came and he was just brilliant’. They can’t tell me what’s said or done - but everyone thinks they are his best mate.
it’s a skill.

Andy Burnham is very electable is what you are saying @patooties . I remain ready to be convinced that he will be good at the job of PM nationally. I live in the rural SW, and nothing he's said yet makes me think our local issues are going to be a priority.

The SW will just get written off again as a holiday destination. Lots of casual jobs scraping ice cream or chamber maiding for kids in the summer months and nothing at all from October to March.

Out of interest, the Telegraph's poll of preferred future leaders has Shabana Mahmood way out in front. Which seems to indicate rather less racial prejudice than most of MN would predict.

hes a fresh face or hes going to be a fall guy in the making

YouGov poll here:

Mayor Boris: the public verdict
5 May 2016

52% of Londoners say he has done a good job, while 29% say he hasn't performed well.

https://yougov.com/en-gb/articles/15330-mayor-boris-public-verdict

@Papyrophile Cornwall voted for Brexit I believe. Money was invested from EU but you lost it. Bigger fools the Cornish.

He’s very electable.
The 4 Labour lp’s in the SW area are running independence aren’t they?

Generally great for manchester

also on record saying that send kids should be supported.

What’s not to like?

Isn’t that just because she’s perceived as tough on immigration which Daily Torygraph readers like?

@Onceuponatimethen
What exactly has he done that’s so great in Greater Manchester. Everybody says he’s great but I just don’t see it.

@SameNonsenseDifferentDay are you in GM?

Yes

Burnham does what he says he will... Transport, housing, redevelopment, health care have all been prioritised and delivered on in GMCA.

Starmer has been doing what he said he would do but more slowly... Housing, renters reform, closer ties with Europe, reform of local government financial settlements, ...his Comms team are shocking. They haven't shouted about the achievements and bent over backwards to try and look like something that Reform voters would vote for. If they stood up and were unashamed about what they were doing instead of chasing to the cocktail of coked up, alcohol fueled auto disappointment vote of Reform they wouldn't be in such a pickle.

Andy Burnham has not been in mainstream government for 10 years plus and has already lost a leadership contest. Whilst he is great for GM as he is passionate about the area - he is vastly out of touch in politics that affect the whole country. He’s not had a cabinet position in a very long time. Are we thinking a local politician can go straight for top job.
The fact that people are considering this seriously is very concerning (to me). Running a region and running the country on an international platform are two very different things. If he wants to maintain the successes he has achieved and be known positively then it would be better he continued to establish GM and deliver as he has.

I think its all a bit too late, when they do try and talk up successes, they are laughed at... because people a: Don't believe them and b: Do not see it in their local area.

Its no good my local Cornish MP telling me they ve built more affordable housing when that housing is still far too expensive and is sold to out of area Housing Associations and the numbers of locals who are homeless keeps going up.

Another would be water pollution/costs, SW England's rebate removed, pollution ever higher, bills the highest in UK, her telling us all they are fixing it is BS.

@Helpmefindmysoul He lost 2 attempts at Labour leadership. I agree that being a mayor is completely different to national politics. He’s not had real responsibility for anything that affects us all. It’s all about his PR and self promotion. Buses and high rise flats are t going to translate to defence and our dire economy. It’s chalk and cheese.

Who in current mainstream politics has any really experience or knowledge of this?
Remember the Tories went into the last GE promising to cut defence.....

Badenoch signed up to that manifesto & has no record of campaigning to increase our defence spend.

Farage has no experience of running anything local or national, not even a bath.

If he fails to win I think we might be in general election territory as the right and left of Labour engage in civil war.

I think there is much more on this election than just Burnham as Labour leader.

Mind you, I also thought Starmer would be gone by now, which shows what I know.

Why would there be a GE, regardless of the by-election result?

That would require the PM to dissolve Parliament.... this power, as i understand it, lies solely with Starmer.

OR a majority vote no confidence in the Govt - as they have a v large majority, thats almost impossible....

No confidence in the PM leads to an election for a new PM/Lab leader.

Burnham loses (odds are 55% against him winning) goes back to Mayor, Starmer wins leadership election and/or Streeting can't get the votes to challenge....

Starmer soldiers on.

It may technically reside with Starmer but in practice it doesn't.

A PM only governs with the support of their cabinet, the cabinet only governs with the support of the backbenchers and the backbenchers only govern with the support of the people.

Maybe a better question is why Labour backbench MPs would vote for a GE when they have over 3 years left to run, and the answer to that would be that it would because they would view continuing in government was more damaging to the party and risky to their futures than calling an election.

I think Burnham is a unique candidate in the respect that his (supposed) competence makes him a clear and obvious leader of the party at this point, a leader that both the left and right may be willing to accept. The path to a new leader and a united party to me looks a lot more difficult in a Rayner/Streeting contest scenario. Where that contest takes the party I don't know, but if both sides dig their heels in it could be to a very bleak place.

and the answer to that would be that it would because they would view continuing in government was more damaging to the party and risky to their futures than calling an election.
They would have to be crushingly stupid ( although...) to think they would win a GE at this point. Their options are keep their jobs for 3 years and hope the government improves or call a GE and risk losing their jobs immediately. They will almost be guaranteed to be ushering in a Reform government too. Most of them have seats with a very small majority. They would be out on their ears immediately. They only chance they have of keeping their jobs it's to not have a GE. Re the Labour Party itself, they would tear themselves apart immediately. They barely tolerate each other as it is.

I think there is also the possibility that a new leader would want to go to the country if they significantly deviated from the original manifesto.

We are constantly reminded that we don't elect a prime minister. However we do elect a manifesto.

The only point of getting in a new leader is to get significant change that the public view the country needs (hence the rise of Reform). I think it would be hard for any new PM to continue if their manifesto differed significantly from what was originally proposed. The public pressure would just become too much to resist.

The alternative is for the new leader to carry on with the old manifesto, and be hamstrung by the commitments made in it, thus ensuring they would not get close to being reelected at the next election.