Is Andy Burnham Labour’s version of Boris Johnson?

Andy Burnham is something of a political chameleon. He has served in a variety of roles throughout his long career, adopted a variety of political positions, and continues to attract a variety of ideas that intensify as he moves closer to Downing Street.

His friends and allies include Sacha Lord, the entrepreneur and chairman of the Night Time Industries Association, who has been offered a role in Burnham’s government; This Lord sums up why many in the Labor movement see him as their political savior.

he said Independent: “It’s probably the first time we’ve had a prime minister you can talk to normally, because, you know, everything else seemed so unattainable and distant, whereas Andy, over the years he’s known him, will stop and talk to absolutely everyone.”

Those who think that these statements evoke something from recent experiences are not wrong. This is exactly what people were saying about Boris Johnson before his downfall.

For anyone who has accompanied Mr Johnson on the Vote Leave bus and seen him mobbed by people wanting to take selfies with him in every town he has visited, the image of Burnham’s high-five at Makerfield is all too familiar.

All in all it was a great story: high-profile Westminster politician leaves parliament to become mayor of one of Britain’s major cities; achieves cult status; Riding on a wave of popularity both in the House of Commons and among voters, he returns to parliament and government, eventually taking over from a widely unpopular leader and becoming prime minister.

For Mr Johnson, the London mayor who replaced Theresa May, read Mr Burnham, the ‘King in the North’ now set on Sir Keir Starmer after crushing Nigel Farage’s Reform in the Makerfield by-election.

But the similarities go far beyond that.

Great political instincts

Like Mr Johnson, Mr Burnham has fantastic political instincts, high emotional intelligence, immense likeability and charisma, but is reportedly incredibly chaotic behind the scenes and very difficult to determine what he believes in.

A former senior Labor adviser who worked with Mr Burnham in Manchester described his approach.

“His political instincts are incredible, you can’t teach that sort of thing. For example, he came in as mayor promising to end homelessness and rough sleeping and quickly realized it was impossible. But he quickly took action, worked with charities, set up all kinds of schemes and projects and managed to sell it successfully.

“He has moved on to buses and brought them back into public ownership. He is very dedicated to every success story and never misses an opportunity to speak out for Manchester.”

In London there are “Boris bikes”, in Manchester there are now “Burnham buses”.

Does Burnham believe anything?

But with political instincts and personality politics, a conundrum also emerges. What does Andy Burnham actually represent? This was a question frequently asked about Mr. Johnson.

The former London mayor infamously wrote pro-Leave and pro-Remain articles to decide which side to support in the EU referendum. He went to Leave in what appeared to be a clear attempt to gain the right to support him in his leadership bid.

He became Prime Minister on a pro-Brexit list after promising to “take back control” of Britain’s borders, but immigration soared during his premiership in the so-called “Boris wave”. He also refused to engage with the culture wars agenda wanted by the Conservative right. He even advocated for net zero, which disappointed them.

Meanwhile, Mr Burnham is accelerating U-turns, whether to rejoin the EU; It’s a policy he suddenly became less than keen on when he became an MP in Makerfield’s pro-Leave constituency.

It appears that Rachel Reeves has also backtracked on rewriting economic policy and is not as passionate about electoral reform as she was before.

Career is decisive. The running joke about him touches on how he switches political positions so effortlessly: a Blairite, a Brownite, a Milibandite, a Starmerite, an insider and an outsider all walk into the bar. The bartender asks: ‘What are you eating Andy?!’

Early in the by-election campaign, a source close to Sir Keir noted that Mr Burnham’s hopes of pleasing those from the far left, the Socialist Campaign Group and the Mainstream, to the Blue Labor Party on the right, were unsustainable.

“Andy cannot hold this together through his personality alone. He will have to make decisions about positions and compromises. This will upset the different supporters,” they said.

And when Shabana Mahmood disappointed her ardent supporters on the left by promising not to deviate from her hard-line immigration policy, there was a dose of realism from a left-wing ally explaining why she was better off keeping Sir Keir or turning to Wes Streeting or Angela Rayner.

“It was a choice between being castrated or having your left hand cut off. Neither was painless,” the MP said matter-of-factly.

But Mr Lord believes the mayor of Manchester has proven to be a man of principle.

“The policy is people-oriented,” he says, noting how the bus policy was designed to help bar staff working into the early hours of Manchester’s nightlife get home without losing half their wages.

“I remember how impressed he was by a young woman working in a pub talking about having to take a taxi home, which helped shape night buses and the £2 bus fare cap.”

A chaotic approach to politics

But others worry about Mr. Burnham’s chaotic approach and lack of staff; This is again characteristic of a former senior party aide with ties to Mr Johnson.

“The problem is that he is very disorganized. He reminds me of Boris. There are no events he arrives on time for, he is always late.”

Mr Lord suggests one reason: “He’s known for always being 25 minutes late, but that’s because he’s spent time talking to everyone at previous events. Like I said, he’s very people-oriented.”

Mr Lord described how the mayor would delay leaving so he could help staff put back tables and chairs after an event “rather than just thinking it was so important”; His supporters believe this kind of quality is the key difference between him and Mr Johnson.

But as he prepares to enter Downing Street, the lack of a big team behind him is a bigger concern.

The same problem affected Mr Johnson, who was forced to hire Michael Gove’s men, especially Dominic Cummings, as his private secretary. It ended in disaster.

The former Labor aide noted: “The real problem is that Andy actually has a very small team. Basically his chief of staff, Kevin Lee, who has known him since university, and the rest are the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). You have to wonder who he will hire when he comes to Downing Street.”

He now appears to have appealed to a Blairite to come in as chief of staff at Downing Street for cabinet colleague James Purnell to fill the gap.

“Given that he won’t have the support of the majority of MPs and won’t have a lot of time, it might be hard to find good people.”

But the real question is what has changed? Mr Johnson was not prime minister until he gained popularity as mayor of London, and now the same appears to be true of Mr Burnham in Manchester.

A politician is reborn

Mr Burnham has come a long way since he was the last MP to lose his second leadership election bid in a contest he was likely to lose. He looked timid and unambitious throughout, eventually being defeated by Jeremy Corbyn and going into Manchester very poorly.

He is now Labour’s most popular figure in the polls; The one man who has proven he can not only beat Nigel Farage but also humiliate him.

“I think Andy would be the first to admit that he has changed and learned since he became mayor,” Mr Lord said.

“Being mayor of Manchester has been a real opportunity and a learning experience for him. We’ve seen that in the hospitality industry. He meets our needs as an important part of the economy in a way that others don’t.”

“In my opinion, he is ready to be prime minister. The country needs him.”