Is Andy Burnham dodging scrutiny, or is he just a different type of communicator? | Andy Burnham
He is expected to become prime minister in just over two weeks, as parliament begins its six-week summer recess. But at an important speech this week, he received exactly zero questions. So is Andy Burnham dodging scrutiny as opposition leader Kemi Badenoch claims? His allies say no; he’s just doing it his own way.
It’s clear that the former mayor of Manchester is a different communicator to Keir Starmer, and so after a speech and the occasional stilted broadcast clip, he’s always likely to get his message across in ways beyond Starmer’s traditional questions.
Burnham’s media strategy has so far been shaped by two things: Her greater ability to communicate more or less like an ordinary person, as evidenced by her relaxed, easy-going demeanor. sometimes almost weird social media videos; as well as the more mundane matters of logistics and media management.
Into this second box came Burnham’s unusual decision not to accept any questions following his speech in Manchester on Monday. The timeline was the official excuse. The real reason was his desire to convey his vision for England without being weighed down by unanswered questions about cabinet posts.
Similarly, Burnham’s diary is now compressed by access negotiations with the public service before entering No. 10, leaving little time to draft speeches or even prepare for numerous interviews in advance.
It’s not ideal, and while Burnham’s team are delighted with coverage of Monday’s speech, they admit Westminster’s political editors are unlikely to take another early train to Manchester just to quietly watch an address they might see on TV.
So Burnham did an interview with Andrew Marr on LBC on Thursday night. An “AMA” (ask me anything) reader Q&A was to be held on Reddit on Friday, with Instagram users to follow on Saturday.
This approach led to slightly arrogant reactions from some competitors; Badenoch said Friday: “I wouldn’t use Reddit as a way to show that I’m open to scrutiny. I think it can do a little better than that.”
But Burnham’s media plan is very intentional in its broad scope and often reliance on direct questions from voters. “The biggest asset we have when it comes to Andy’s communication system is his ability to connect with people,” a source in his camp said. “So we want to create opportunities for him to do that.”
This will also include more traditional engagements such as newspaper interviews and TV breakfast canapés, time permitting; allies say it will be highly visible throughout the summer and avoid the impression of emptiness.
And while Burnham was elusive on the night of the Makerfield byelection that returned him to parliament, he kicked off the campaign with an event in which he received more than an hour of combined questions from broadcast and print media, covering everything from immigration to electoral reform.
No one can accuse Burnham of hiding from the media while she was mayor, but a much bigger test awaits her fledgling communications team, led by veteran Sarah Brown, who until a few days ago did the same job for London mayor Sadiq Khan.
With Grace Pritchard, another veteran Labor communications expert currently in charge and likely in the 10th position, in charge of day-to-day affairs, there is talk of bringing others into what is theoretically intended to be a collegiate and “strengthened” communications team, free of the backbiting and briefings of other regimes.
This is all very well in theory, of course, and the sheer chaos and ruthlessness of Downing Street has repeatedly demonstrated the political version of Mike Tyson’s boxing maxim that everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.
Craig Oliver, head of communications under David Cameron, said friendly, direct-to-viewer videos can only get you so far: “How do you react when things get serious, and how do you react when the tide starts to turn? A lot of these communication methods are pretty good when the tide is in your favour, but when things go wrong it becomes a struggle.”
One of Burnham’s advantages, according to Paul Ovenden, formerly Starmer’s head of political strategy at No 10, is that she has evolved as a communicator, from a more traditional approach initially when she became an MP and minister, to the methods she developed as mayor.
Ovenden said: “I suspect the move to Manchester has allowed him to change the way he communicates. “I don’t think it’s cynical that he’s decided to sound a bit more like a populist politician, I just suspect he communicates more naturally now.
“There are different ways to skin a cat, and Andy’s particular style – kind of earthy, real, talking like a lot of normal people do – is a very appropriate style for the moment.”
