Quote · The Rest Is Politics
545. Burnham Beats Reform: Britain’s Next Prime Minister?
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The Mayoral Route: Boris, Burnham and International Parallels
At 35:55 · chapter starts 33:50
Alastair Campbell, writing from Paris, observes a striking international pattern: Chirac, Sarkozy, and Hollande were all mayors before becoming French president; Édouard Philippe is currently a mayor and a leading contender; Claudia Sheinbaum came from city government in Mexico; Matteo Renzi from Florence in Italy. The elected mayor model — which Britain adopted relatively recently — may be creating a new independent power base outside of the Westminster game. Rory Stewart builds on this: Boris Johnson figured it out first in British politics, using the mayoralty to choose selectively when to be loyal to his party and when to put London first, laying out an independent platform and coming across as a CEO who actually gets things done. Andy Burnham has taken this further, being non-tribal, accessible and non-political in a way Westminster politicians simply cannot be. The burning question remains: can Burnham preserve the Manchester version of himself once he walks into Downing Street?
Boris Johnson figured it out first: being mayor lets you choose when to be loyal and when to be disloyal, put your city above your party, and come across as a CEO who gets things done. Andy Burnham has taken that model further, and it may now deliver him the keys to Downing Street.
Andy Burnham is a far better politician as Mayor of Greater Manchester than he ever was as a Westminster MP. The central question of a potential Burnham premiership is whether taking power in Downing Street will suck him back into the tribal, small-minded Westminster game he has spent a decade transcending.
