The race in review: Andy Burnham

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Andy BurnhamBy Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

Andy Burnham comes across as a really nice bloke. He’s friendly, personable and (as far as politicians go) normal. He represents the area he grew up in and he still goes to Everton matches – and would arguably rather play for them than become Prime Minister, which would certainly make for an interesting contrast with the current incumbent of number 10.

It’s not fair to say that nice people can’t be successful in politics. That sentiment plays into the current anti-politics narrative that all politicians are bastards, and that there’s something inherently grubby and distasteful about the art of politics, which is of course nonsense. Andy Burnham is very clearly an affable guy, and has had a successful career in the party, rising to the position of health secretary and becoming one of the key ministers of state.

Andy’s problem isn’t that he’s nice, it’s that he hasn’t ran a good enough campaign, he’s too comfortable with resorting to his back story as a catch-all answer to questions, and he’s had no chance of pushing his own narrative against a media obsessed with the fraternal rivalry of the Milibrothers.

Andy has run a slow, disjointed campaign. Part of that is that he took time to get going, being nominated (like Ed Balls and Diane Abbott) late in the process. His decision to base his campaign in Manchester was courageous, and was a nod to those who feel that the party, and politics, is too Westminster focused. It was a decision that needn’t have been fatal. Yet even avid watchers of the leadership race began to wonder what Burnham and his team were up to each day as there was so little output. In the end the distance and the lack of activity meant that many in the press have simply given up on Burnham as a viable candidate. It’s unfair but that’s exactly what happened.

It needn’t have been like that though. Burnham has a CV that outstrips many of his peers, and having held the role of health secretary he should arguably be as serious a contender as David Miliband and Ed Balls, and a more serious contender than Ed Miliband, who held the important yet relatively junior position of energy secretary. Burnham though has failed to transfer this experience and ability into any real sense that he has a real chance in this race – and from day one that notion has been impossible to shake off.

Another one of the weaknesses of Andy’s campaign is that he has made so much of it about his background. There’s something very likeable about it, and it looks great on paper – normal background, comprehensive educated northern kid gets into Cambridge and a whole set of opportunities open up to him. Yet he works hard enough and long enough so that he can go back to the area he grew up in, and becomes the local MP. This is a great back story, but it’s not a replacement for organisation or a real narrative about where you want to take the country. All too often Andy’s background is the answer to the tricky question – when it should be kept in the background for others to remark on. Like most things in life, it looks more impressive if someone else is praising it.

There have been flashes of what Burnham’s campaign could be. He’s great in interviews, and his recent performance on Question Time, starting slowly but building rapidly until he was roaring his furious disapproval at Tory plans for the NHS. “Aspirational Socialism” could have done with a bit more meat on the bones, but it was perhaps the closest any of the candidates have come to an over-arching political philosophy that defines them. He’s certainly going to be the fifth choice of very few party members too – there’s little to dislike about Burnham, and that’s a distinct advantage in modern politics.

Andy should have a great career on the front bench after the leadership election, although it won’t be as leader. He has been at his strongest and most persuasive when defending the NHS. It’s clearly something he’s passionate about, and it’s make sense to have him continue to shadow health again. The problem is that Andy hasn’t shown the same battling capabilities as Ed Balls has in this race. He hasn’t shown himself to be indispensable – yet. And because of that I have a real feeling that for Andy’s career he really needs to make sure he makes the top three in the final ballot, or he’ll find it harder to command the position he wants, and deserves, come September. And for Andy Burnham, the north, normal people everywhere and the Labour Party – that would be a real shame.

This is the fourth in a series of posts looking at how the leadership candidates, and their campaigns, have performed so far. They’re being done in alphabetical order, so tomorrow’s article will feature the Andy Burnham campaign. You can read the first post on the leadership race for the party as a whole, the second on Diane Abbott, and the third on Ed Balls.

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