On Newsnight last night, presenter Matt Chorley showed viewers a selection of texts he had received from Labour MPs or ministers about the upstart Burnham.
Some of them were negative. For example: “Is Andy getting the train down to Westminster on Monday or will he walk on water?”
And: “I hope I’m wrong, but I fear Burnham will be quickly exposed as a naked king and we will be hated even more.”
Burnham has two problems.
First, the only way the United Kingdom can avoid financial ruin is if some very tough decisions are taken. That predicates a principled, honest, ruthless, no-nonsense and (probably) right-of-centre government.
But unless he undergoes a remarkable Damascene conversion, Burnham will be worse even than Starmer at confronting the harsh realities, because he’s more of a leftie.
And the second problem?
When Burnham fails to “deliver” and it turns out that the Yellow Brick Road leads to Nowheresville, the question of his legitimacy may rise up to trouble him.
Yes, the Tories got rid of May, Johnson and Truss precipately. However in none of those cases was the leader’s downfall solely due to the ambition and machinations of just one individual.
Starmer is not a very good Prime Minister. Nonetheless, if Burnham had not won in Makerfield, Starmer would have continued in the role. No-one else would have beaten him in a leadership contest.
Burnham will always be tainted by being a usurper. When people turn against him, they are likely to turn very hard.
