“He is basically defying all expectations among those of us who thought changing the party leadership was a bad thing,” a former Labour MP told The Irish Times.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham flew into Dublin from Turkey on Thursday afternoon to join about 50 other heads of government for the European Political Community summit and the subsequent leaders’ dinner.
Four months after taking office over the summer, Burnham has taken Labour from the verge of third place to first in opinion polls. He also maintains his status as the only British party leader with a positive YouGov rating.
Voters have responded positively to his populist, incremental interventions, such as capping bus fares and targeting bad behavior on public transport. At the same time, he is testing the boundaries of debate on whether Britain should ever rejoin the European Union.
Burnham’s rise to Downing Street involved ousting Keir Starmer in what colleagues describe as a bloodless coup. Parliamentarians credited Burnham’s emotional intelligence and charisma for achieving a smooth and orderly transition.
“Other than one or two whose noses are of joint – including Keir himself – mostly everybody is on-board,” a Labour parliamentarian told The Irish Times.
The transition did result in friction with Darren Jones, who ran the powerful cabinet office under Starmer. Burnham sacked Jones, a move that his team privately acknowledges may have been a mistake that left Jones disgruntled on the sidelines.
About 30 ministers at various levels were moved on during the handover. However, many received assurances that their political careers in government are far from finished.
While the Westminster lobby media pack complains that Burnham is less open to formal scrutiny than his predecessors, he engages directly with the public through viral videos. Downing Street digital communications guru Abby Tomlinson oversees these popular social media appearances.
Recent viral offerings include a video face-off with Taoiseach Micheál Martin over tea preferences and a discussion about salt and vinegar crisps with Chancellor John Healey.
Cabinet ministers report that Burnham maintains the same easy charm and calm demeanor behind closed doors.
“He doesn’t have temper tantrums like some of his predecessors,” a senior Labour figure told The Irish Times. “Cabinet ministers also say he takes an interest in their briefs and is engaging about it, while Keir wasn’t interested in what most of them were doing.”
Westminster awaits Burnham’s much-vaunted 10-year plan for Britain, which will outline how he intends to handle defence spending, youth unemployment, and welfare reform. The plan is expected before the end of the year or early next year amid a fresh cost-of-living crisis driven by rising energy costs.
Some colleagues harbor lingering doubts about his historical reputation for procrastination on major national security decisions.
A senior Labour figure told The Irish Times that the jury is still out on how Burnham would cope with commanding military deployments or facing widespread public disapproval.
“We shall see,” a Labour source told The Irish Times. “The jury is still out on how he would ever cope with being disliked.”
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