Andy Burnham’s honeymoon period as Britain’s Prime Minister is about to end. The Labour leader, who walked into Number 10 six weeks ago just as Parliament began its summer recess, will face MPs for the first time on Tuesday when he delivers a statement on his priorities.
The timing of Labour’s leadership contest meant Burnham enjoyed an unusual political grace period. He’s spent the past weeks on what Downing Street termed a ‘summer tour’ of the UK, appearing on podcasts and rolling out cost of living policies without facing direct scrutiny from opposition MPs. Things ce this week.
Wednesday brings his debut at Prime Minister’s Questions, a moment Burnham has pursued for nearly two decades. A packed Commons chamber with hostile opposition politicians and curveball questions will be vastly different from his nine years as Mayor of Greater Manchester. He last sat on the government front bench 16 years ago under Gordon Brown.
What will the new PM’s performance reveal about his leadership style? One Number 10 source described his debut as a ‘learning exercise’ to discover ‘what works and what doesn’t’. The team around Burnham views his premiership’s start as successful but admits they’ll be relieved to return to the ‘structure’ of parliamentary politics.
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