Aren’t we all just sick of UK politics generally and the Labour Party in particular. Watching the news this morning with apolitical friends, the common view was politicians are just dissemblers as a series of interviews showcased the self-serving hypocrisy of (mostly but not all) Labour spokespeople. Starmer has been treated shamefully by his party. Who can blame him for wanting to dig in but he would probably be unwise. The momentum is clearly against him. Burnham scored a handsome victory last night and, most importantly, saw off Reform comfortably, a favour to all of us moderates. That is what will count in the end with Labour MPs and members and provides further evidence Reform has peaked. That is good news at least.
The overrated, self-styled ‘King of the North’ – what nonsense – should just get on and challenge Starmer now to put us out of our misery. He will never be more powerful than he is today and we need a government to govern not the endless soap opera of the last few months. Youth unemployment, welfare bills, social care all need sorting. Business is stymied by tax blocking growth, house building has stalled and that is before issues relating to Europe, the Ukraine war and the continuing chaos in the Middle East are addressed.
Does Burnham have better solutions to any of these intractable issues than Starmer? Probably not. But he is a superior communicator and backbenchers will rally behind him for now. He should go for the leadership, call a general election when he is on the up and requires a mandate and then prove to voters that the constant changing of PMs never works in achieving better governance.
Inside Right Politics 