AIBU to think the cost of clothes has no bearing on whether a leader is a “man of the people”, and is puerile, dumbed down thinking?

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I’ve just seen a snipey remark on social media commenting on the cost of Andy Burnham’s outfit when arriving at conference, and suggesting because his jacket cost [x] amount and his trainers [x] amount he can’t be a man of the people.

The amounts stated are totally unsubstantiated but assuming they’re right, does anyone give a fuck? Surely being a man of the people is about your actions and where you’re sympathies lie, not about how much your trousers cost?

Also, the costs stated are expensive but not so wild that they’re beyond the reach of a lot of people. So it’s total bollocks anyway.

Or should a man of the people wear rags or only shop at Primark?

The PM gets paid enough to not shop at Primark and George at ASDA! It’s not like he’s prancing around in diamond shoes

So long as he's paid for them himself, I'd consider that an improvement

This, it doesn't matter what he wears as long as he isn't getting freebies.

It's just media bllx. If it was the Governor of the BoE in Savile Row nothing would be said. But a Labour MP has to dress 'poor' but then be slated for eg wearing a 'donkey jacket' as Michael Foot was.

He has addressed this before. He buys clothing from local independent retailers so it’s often handmade and yes, costs more but he wants to put money into the pockets of locals. The clothing will also last far longer than fast fashion crap. Nicola Sturgeon did the same thing.

Also want to add that I’m so tired of people giving his wife stick for her clothing. She didn’t ask for this and I think she looks lovely.

He has probably got a small wardrobe, he doesn't wear much variety so buys better stuff that will last. DH buys expensive stuff like Arcteryx clothing but wears the same all the while.

See also, Jeremy Corbyn.

She does look nice in that skirt which was said to be Next but the VB dress was a mistake and didn't suit her

Why? Because she’s a mother who happens to have lower belly fat as the vast majority of mothers do? She looked absolutely fine and it’s high time we stopped pulling women apart for having completely normal bodies.

The phrase "man of the people" makes me want to vom regardless of anything else.

Nothing to do with her belly fat (although I try not to draw attention to mine).
The dress just didn’t suit her , not everything suits everyone.
I wouldn’t wear something tight because it wouldn’t suit me , nor do shirt dresses for example.

I’m not interested in his clothes but I’d like to see him actually do something instead of posting meaningless sound bites on social media. It’s that which makes him too try-hard not what he’s wearing.

I was watching the Real Rooneys, I like Colleen but I highly doubt she shops in Primark and if she wears any of the clothes she has put her name to , it’s because it’s part of her contract.

Some people wont be happy unless our leaders resembled Ghandi.

Andy’s mission priorities right now are

Manage CoL expectations and prepare the Nation and infrastructure for the AI age.

What he wears is irrelevant as long as it’s not a flip flop.

I doubt many men being paid £170k a year go to work wearing £22 jeans or £18 trainers from Tesco - and if he did, these articles would be about why he's wearing mass produced fashion/sweatshop clothing instead of supporting UK clothing manufacturers and brands.

I am not the biggest Labour fan, but do like Burnham. I've actually worked with him on a number of things a few years ago and liked him then .
He's announced loads of policies.In fact, i've just googled them, and i'll share the list below in a minute. He's also made it very clear that he is developing a 10 year plan which will be announced and probably a bit tomorrow at conference, and then when the budget is given.

These are the ones so far:

What policies has burnham announced already

Assuming you mean Andy Burnham, the UK prime minister since July 2026, he has already announced a fairly substantial set of policies. The main ones announced so far include:
£2 cap on single bus fares across England — due to take effect in January 2027.
Remove VAT from household electricity bills — announced as an immediate cost-of-living measure, with the government estimating an average saving of about £45 per household.
Major devolution of power to regional mayors — including giving regions a share of income-tax receipts and greater control over transport, housing, skills, employment support and public services.
Greater local control of business rates — from spring 2027, regional authorities are due to retain a larger share of locally generated business rates.
“No.10 North” — establishing a stronger government presence outside London as part of the decentralisation agenda.
Technical education from age 14 — allowing pupils to combine core maths, English and science with practical/technical education, work experience and employer links.
National Care Service — Burnham has begun work towards a National Care Service, with care treated as a public service and greater emphasis on the status and conditions of care workers.
Ending rough sleeping — the government has committed to ending rough sleeping, although the precise programme and timetable are still being developed.
Business-rates relief for pubs, social clubs and live-music venues has also been announced.
A 10-year plan and further fiscal/devolution proposals are promised, with substantial details expected around the October 2026 Budget.
One important distinction: some of these are firm government measures with implementation dates, while others are ambitions or programmes whose detailed design hasn't yet been published. The House of Lords Library specifically notes that Burnham's broader agenda is still being developed.
If you want, I can also give you the full list of Burnham's announced policies, grouped into tax, NHS, housing, immigration, education, transport, energy, welfare and constitutional reform, including what each one would actually mean for an ordinary household.

Can you list them in plain text

1. Remove VAT from domestic electricity bills.
2. Cut business rates by 20% for pubs, social clubs and live-music venues.
3. Give more powers and money to regional mayors and give areas without mayors new devolution deals.
4. Introduce new technical-education routes from age 14. And give young people more technical training, work experience and employer links.
5. Build more council houses.
6. Launch a programme to end rough sleeping, including £340 million for housing and support.
7. Put more essential services under public control. Including exploring bringing water companies into public ownership.
8. Increase the use of public procurement to support British businesses.
9. Reform the leasehold system and allow more people to move to commonhold.

10. Work towards a National Care Service. Increase the emphasis on preventative healthcare and early intervention. 11. Reform the welfare system partly through getting more young people into work. 12. Keep the UK's commitment to NATO and its nuclear deterrent. And Strengthen defence equipment and capabilities. 13. Deport thousands of foreign national offenders. 14. End the use of IPP (Imprisonment for Public Protection) sentences. 15. Create specialist courtrooms for rape and serious sexual-offence cases. 16. Introduce tighter protections for victims of domestic abuse. 17. Free bus travel for children aged 15 and under during August 2026. And £2 cap on bus journeys in England 18. Develop closer cooperation with European countries without rejoining the EU. Increase the use of government procurement to support UK industry. 19. Develop a 10-year plan for the UK covering the economy and public services. Further shift political and economic decision-making from Westminster to local areas.

He's ststed that this isn't his full plan yet and that he will say it this aurumn.
I can't think of another prime minister who has given so many policies that I fundamentally agree with so early on. He obviously has to do something about the boats but Farage and Johnson has made that very difficult thanks to Brexit.
What else would you like to see?

Thanks for that, I did know those things had been announced and obviously they will take time to implement. I’m less impressed by things like allowing drinking at football matches which feels like a misguided but easy way to appeal to ‘the people’. I think he’s trying too hard to be liked - he does seem likeable - but I worry he’s not going to make tough decisions because he wants to be everybody’s mate.

There have been some terrible things said about his wife.

He can't really wear Primark seconds to go to summit meetings and mingle with other world leaders can he?

Rishi Sunak got a lot of stick for clothing. So did Truss and May for that matter. Or someone’s hair.

The list aside, Starmer used to get these posts, Brexit isn’t a factor. Other EU countries success or not re migration depends on their domestic policies.

Johnson did the hair thing deliberately. It was part of his utter wanker loveable buffoon act.

Burnham’s wife has had a political husband for many years ! She knows the score. She doesn’t dress well and needs help but I guess would not accept that. It’s all about dressing for your shape and minimizing your least favourable bits. It’s inevitable she’s going to be noticed. Sam Cam wore M&S so you don’t have to spend a lot but you do need styles that suit you. Eg you don’t see Kirsty Allsopp in clingy dresses! If you have a decent waist, flared out over bigger hips looks good.

Unfortunately the right wing press in this country like to push the agenda that anything vaguely left of centre is communist and anyone not fitting that profile is a dreadful hypocrite. It’s the champagne socialist argument.
TBH, when the only substantive opposition they can make is to reference a persons clothing it’s clear the bottom of the barrel is being scraped.

I loved seeing his wife in an outfit that was clearly her own style and not a traditional wife-of-the-PM print midi dress. I was expecting her to receive cruel comments as a result.

It says far more about those making these comments than it does about the wearer of the clothes. I do wish people weren’t so gleefully nasty for such vacuous reasons.

You can’t win.
Buy from Primark and get slated.
Buy designer and get slated.

I don’t care, as long as he looks reasonable.