The Road to Wigan Keir: Andy Burnham’s Continuity Starmer Strategy

The Labour leadership hopeful now risks falling into exactly the same traps which helped bring down his predecessor

“British politics is tired,” Andy Burnham told his supporters on Friday, as he launched his campaign to become MP for Makerfield.

“It needs a new script.”

It’s hard to disagree with this assessment. Unfortunately it’s becoming just as hard to work out exactly what he wants to change about it.

Because, despite repeatedly promising major “change” from the agenda of the current Government, Burnham has so far:

• Backed Keir Starmer’s red lines on Brexit

• Backed Shabana Mahmood’s hostile immigration policies

• Backed Rachel Reeves’ fiscal rules

• Backed the Government’s illiberal trans policies

Now it is perfectly possible to argue for, or against, each of these positions.

But what you can’t argue is that they in any way resembles a new “script” for British politics.

So does Andy Burnham actually plan to meaningfully change how our national politics is done, or is he just planning to be Keir Starmer, but with a Northern accent?

Here’s where I think we are.