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

[GarlicBiscuits]

A few weeks ago, I’d never heard of this man. A few weeks ago, he wasn’t even an MP.

Yet suddenly, he’s everywhere and going to be our next prime minister? What qualifies him for this role? It seems that all the Labour MPs love him. Why?

The whole situation is very odd to me… I’m not sure it’ll do Labour any favors at all.

You hadn’t heard of him. How?

He's not even got the job yet and already he's trying to negotiate wfh with his 'number 10 in the north' 😂

You have been living under a rock, haven’t you?

I first became aware of him when he stood up for the north during covid. I liked him. I googled him when there was talk of him being stopped from standing as an MP - probably on The rest is politics podcast and again more recently when he was standing in Makerfield. He has been an MP before and in politics for years. I think he is left of Blair. I can’t see him taking us into a war without a very very good reason. The labour party need someone who is firm in his views and not afraid to air them. I have nothing against Starmer as politicians go and I think he is better than most but he is a bit bland.

I voted Labour at the last election but am a current member of the greens. I will be watching closely.

We really don't need anyone else to prove how dreadful they have been to us.
It's terrifying to think of how much damage this man may do on top of the rest.
I'm just above nmw btw and in a vulnerable position so they should be speaking to me and reassuring me.
What would have helped me would have been to raise the thresholds. Instead they said no because those at the top would gain more benefit than those at the bottom .
They put my job at risk with the huge ni burden they have placed on my employer and stymied any hopes of any decent pay rises we have had 1.4 % this year.
Their other policies are putting my very job at risk

This has to be a wind up, surely?

Losing isn't necessarily a sign of being unfit to be PM. History is littered with brilliant people who for one reason or another never got the top job, and also with much less brilliant people who did. Denis Healey comes to mind as one of the former.

Well he certianly "can't take us to war " at the moment or even in the next decade as our protection and forces are weak and depleted.

Yes it's a fast news day with this shitty lot in power but let's not forget two major defense ministers have resigned over the woeful state of our protection.

This should be the immediate and over riding no 1 priority.

You had never heard of him? Seriously? I live as far south as you can and have been aware of him for years.

Your ignorance means nothing here.

Assuming your post is not just a wind up, how many of these names do you recognise?

Steve Rotheram
Tracy Brabin
Oliver Coppard
Analise Dodds
Sally Jamieson

if your answer is none, then you are not from the northern part of England or you have little to no interest in politics. May be both.

Burnham was a minister in both the Blair and Brown government's. He was famously booed at Anfield when he was Culture and Sports Secretary. An event that led him to believe he could be more use as a Regional Major than a MP.

during covid he became the voice that challenged Johnson when it was often felt that the regions were not being sufficiently considered by that government.

I knew all that cos I'm northern and super interested in politics. But it's easily found out via the internet. You don't have to show your lack of knowledge quite so openly, if you just do a little bit of research prior to posting. You may like to try that approach in future.

What this whole "we will tread lightly on your lives " farce the labour party is putting us through ??

@user1471453601 may I remind you this is a chat forum.

People don't have to do "research before posting " because it's a chat forum and not a university where people are submitting work to be marked.

Came here to say the same.

Anyway to the OP specifically I’ve always associated him with his work on the Hillsborough scandal back when he was in Government which feels like a well known cultural reference so I’m surprised there’s people who haven’t heard of him until now.

Being Mayor of Greater Manchester is hardly the wilderness. Boris Johnson's springboard to becoming PM was serving as Mayor of London.

He is an English graduate so a bit of fantasy will be part of it.
A bit like Boris Johnson and his Roman & Greek style intrigues and power games.

You're not the only person posting on this thread. Some here clearly know next to nothing about politics.

Boris was already an MP. I am not questioning the constitutionality of it.

Just that it's remarkable with that number of existing MPs they have so little confidence that they have to call upon this "messiah" type figure.

All this faux naivety is ridiculous. Most people not had heard of Keir Starmer before he became leader of Labour, despite his high profile and mainly respected career when he was career as Director of the Prosecution.

As for the last government, only Boris Johnson was high profile and known due to playing the fool on Have I Got News for You and being an inefective and lazy mayor for London, known for dangling on a zip wire and getting bikes introduced. His grandiose plans to build bridges etc came to nothing (just like HS2). Sunak only came to prominence due to throwing the government credit card around during Covid, arguably the most generous level of welfare ever seen in the UK. Unfortunately, as with all credit, this needs to be paid back with interest.

@WhatFreshHelll I will take your comment under advisement. Thankyou.

I’m not a fan of his, but you must be very politically unaware to not have heard of him. He’s been around for years and years.

Failed twice to become the leader of the Labour Party before moving off to Manchester. It’s quite ironic that he spends a lot of time lambasting Westminster when he was part of the Westminster elite himself for years in his favourite Armani suits before reinventing himself in Manchester as Major.

@poetryandwine - it is neither. It’s Burn-his-m. And we will have to wait and see.

Yes, but you were responding directly to me

He has more high level experienced than a lot of the current cabinet. He possibly has more experience than Starmer did when Starmer became PM. He’s well liked within the party.

There are many, many MPs who most people haven’t heard of before they suddenly get promoted in a cabinet reshuffle. I bet there’s a lot of people here who probably couldn’t even name the current health or education secretaries without googling and are even less likely to have heard of them before their promotion.

You'd never heard of him?!?! OP, where have you been loving for the past decade?

The Labour Party really are clutching at straws with him. I can see why @GarlicBiscuits wouldn't know who he is. From a certain perspective, if one has become jaded about politics in recent years (understandably), and doesn't really follow the fringes, just the main headlines, and lives in the south, it would be easy to not pay attention to a name mentioned that one doesn't recognise.

That said, he has definitely been in the news, as so many posters have already said.

I wonder who his cabinet will be? There aren't exactly names aplenty. I also think Labour have lost the next election by backing him.

About his only redeeming feature was the Monty Python reference when he was heckled while being sworn in. Smug twat.