Burnham: The PM in a pickle
THIS was the week when Andy Burnham was exposed as a man without any plan.
The self-proclaimed “King of the North” had been exalted as a saviour by Labour MPs who toppled Sir Keir Starmer for being a dreary plodder.
His “radical” vision might, at face value, have seemed attractive to some. Promising to end the stasis stifling the economy, ease the suffocating cost of living crisis, and get Britons into jobs.
Then reality bit. His Chancellor’s blink-and-you’d-miss-it Budget was spectacular only in its lack of boldness and ambition.
Far from setting the nation on course for calmer waters, he is steering us towards still more treacherous economic rocks — with seemingly no idea of how to avoid them.
The PM has managed to exasperate absolutely everybody. Well, everybody except for benefits claimants, his Left-wing backbenchers and gherkin connoisseurs.
In an ITV interview yesterday, Burnham tried to mop up the mess, only to make himself look even more detached from reality.
How could he seriously grumble that his Budget wasn’t sufficiently radical when he’s ultimately in charge of it?
Hard-toiling taxpayers are raging at being treated like a never-ending cash machine to fund Labour’s unfair policies.
Look at who is picking up the tab. Workers have been betrayed over tax thresholds. Businesses are hit by hidden levies. Savers have been fleeced.
Anybody who enjoys a bet is going to find it harder to locate a high street bookie.
Growth is being strangled.
Yet, held hostage by his own bleeding-heart backbenchers, Burnham refuses to reduce the sky-rocketing welfare bill that is bankrupting the country.
He has no clear and coherent plan for anything. Look at the EU. In the past week, the PM has argued that the only way for the UK to flourish is to get closer to the collapsing bloc.
However, his own Budget policy of cutting import tariffs, to reduce the cost of living, would be IMPOSSIBLE without Brexit.
And what about our Armed Forces? While the Defence Secretary solemnly warns us to stockpile essentials to prepare for war by 2030, Burnham is dragging his feet on properly funding our hollowed-out military.
Burnham is also floundering on migration. He is set to water down the Home Secretary’s flagship crackdown, which would make some migrants wait longer for permanent residency here and reduce their right to benefits. Why?
Because he is scared of upsetting 100 left-wing MPs opposed to the change. Yet this sticks two fingers up at a public which has repeatedly demanded tougher immigration rules.
TikTok-loving Burnham has lofty rhetoric, vibes and musings galore.
But when it comes to dealing with the colossal issues he is an empty vessel.
In the 100 days or so he has been PM, he has shown his government has no serious answers.