Sunday Ehigiator with agency report
The former Greater Manchester mayor, known as the “King of the North,” is set to move into Downing Street on Monday, when he officially takes over from outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Speaking at a special party conference at the Trades Union Congress in London, yesterday, Burnham said he was ready to “beat Britain’s new right” and called for the dawning of a new political landscape in Britain.
“I am for us, for all of us. And I want people to say once again that Labour are for us,” UK-based Time Magazine quoted Burnham to have said, pointing towards his “for us” campaign slogan from last month’s Makerfield by-election, his victory of which gave him a path back to Downing Street.
“Change starts with honesty,” Burnham said, pointing to shortcomings across the political spectrum. “We must recognize that this generation of politicians, myself included, have failed to challenge a political culture and an economic model that simply doesn’t work well enough for ordinary people.”
Although Burnham had previously introduced his vision for a “No. 10 North” and devolution plans, he has still yet to set out a detailed list of his policies.
Instead, as he formally accepted the Labour premiership, he offered insight into his vision for both the political party and the U.K. as a whole.
The Labour government has seen a decrease in popularity among the British public, cemented by huge losses at the local polls in May—the fallout of which ultimately led to Starmer resigning as Prime Minister.
Burnham paid tribute to Starmer, thanking him for his service to both party and country, and said he was ready to “build on the foundation” established by his predecessors.
The former mayor’s bid for Labour leadership remained unchallenged, as expected, but his challenges are far from over.
Burnham will become the U.K.’s seventh Prime Minister in 10 years, and experts are already discussing his projected tenure, given that he’s set to confront the same deep-seated economic and structural problems as his predecessors.
Yet Burnham is embracing the challenges and has vowed to give “hope” back to the people.
Burnham called for “new politics” and vowed to end Labour’s “insidious briefing culture”
At the core of Burnham’s remarks was a call for instilling “new politics” in the U.K.
“I will work to build a new politics. The country is crying out for it,” he said. “We might enjoy the ‘point scoring’ against others. The public don’t. How can politicians point fingers when living standards are falling and politics, as a whole, isn’t working for them? It infuriates them and makes them switch off,” he added.
According to the Office for National Statistics, 79 percent of adults in Great Britain reported in April an increase in their cost of living, despite a climb down in inflation to a current level of three percent.
Encouraging a fresh perspective, Burnham called on his fellow Labour lawmakers to have the “self-confidence to find common ground” with other parties in the hope of making political discourse a “little bit less toxic.”
“I will work relentlessly to build a culture of one Labour team, because change starts with us,” he continued. “We won’t beat Britain’s new right if we are consumed by infighting and pulling in different directions.”
Burnham said eradicating infighting and the “insidious briefing culture that goes along with it” will help characterise his leadership.