The reason Andy Burnham may already be repeating Keir Starmer’s biggest mistake
Andy Burnham risks entering Downing Street without the urgency, preparation or clear plan needed to govern, a former senior Whitehall official has warned.
Former deputy cabinet secretary Helen MacNamara said Labor leadership hopefuls must show the “urgency and ruthlessness” needed to transition into government.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Independent’s political podcast In The Room, MacNamara said Burnham’s camp needed to have “a clear template in their mind of what good governance looks like” for the UK, not just Manchester or Makerfield.
“I don’t know if that’s the current state of our political class or if it’s the problem with the Labor Party, but they feel extremely intellectually disinterested in the business of governing,” he said.
His warning came after Burnham was sworn in as an MP on Monday, just hours after Sir Keir Starmer made his resignation speech outside Downing Street. His arrival was greeted with screams and chants from the fans, as well as heckles from some of the opposition benches. A Conservative MP shouted “Rome was saved!” shouted another, while another offered a Monty Python-inspired response: “He’s not the messiah.”
Cleo Watson, MacNamara’s former No.10 home special adviser, voiced similar concerns. MacNamara referred to reports that former transport minister Louise Haigh had asked MPs what jobs they wanted in a Burnham-led government; “basically, it’s the opposite of what you should be doing,” MacNamara said.
“When you talk to people about these jobs, you want to be able to say, ‘These are the five priorities I want to see happen with housing. I want you to deliver on this. Are you comfortable with that?'” Watson said.
Instead, Watson said he heard more informal conversations in which lawmakers pitched their own ideas. He described the response from Burnham’s team as: “Yeah, great, man. Sounds good. Someone should note that.”
“I just think: oh, no,” he said. “Are we going to encounter a situation similar to what we just experienced, or are we going to sleepwalk?”
MacNamara said his bigger concern was the apparent lack of urgency in preparations for a possible new government.
“The pace is miles away,” he said. “When you work at the heart of power, you don’t have time to wonder and think. Where is the speed, urgency and ruthlessness in planning and delivery? That’s what bothers me.”
Both MacNamara and Watson worked within the government during periods of political transition. MacNamara said those around Burnham will likely experience conflicting emotions as the prospect of power draws closer.
“The mood in Andy Burnham’s camp will be a mix of enthusiasm and fear, neither of which works very well. The excitement makes people giddy and a little angry as they get closer to actual power. We’ve both seen that a lot,” he said.
“The second thing is fear. Sometimes the worst thing that can happen to you is that you get what you want. And you’re not ready. History has real rhymes in this case. Are there very mature transition plans? Is there a really clear idea of who exactly is going to do what job?”
“Does anyone believe Andy Burnham is better prepared to be prime minister than Keir Starmer in 2024? I don’t think so.”
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