London Mayor Sadiq Khan was left stuttering during a live interview on LBC after host James O'Brien pressed him on whether Andy Burnham will be a better prime minister than Sir Keir Starmer.
The broadcaster returned to the airwaves on Thursday (July 23) to discuss Burnham's first week in office as the UK's new Prime Minister. Burnham moved into No. 10 on Monday (July 20) following Starmer's exit.
Khan's evasive answer
James bluntly asked: "Is Andy Burnham going to be a better prime minister than Sir Keir Starmer?" The mayor began to stutter as he touched on his friendship with the former party leader.
He said: "Look, people know my friendship with Keir Starmer. He's the guy who rescued our party from almost oblivion after we lost in 2019. I think Andy is building on the progress Keir has made over the last two years, and the first week has been fantastic for London and the country."
Khan added: "I'm inundated with messages from pubs, bars, and restaurants in London who are grateful for the relief coming around the corner with the reduction in business rates. It's really important to build on that. We have a cost-of-living crisis, but also a cost-of-doing-business crisis as well."
O'Brien presses further
But the broadcaster wasn't satisfied. He said: "You didn't answer my question, and I know you know that, but for the benefit of people listening, is he going to do it? Do you think he will prove to be a better prime minister than Keir Starmer did?"
Khan replied: "Look, I hope we're not going to get to two years' time and people calling for Andy to go. I think the issue is this: I think in this country, generally speaking, and across the globe, we give too much credit and do somersaults when somebody is doing well. So when somebody is not doing so well, we slag them off too much as well."
He continued: "Cool, calm heads are what we need, and I'm a friend of Andy's as well, I should also declare. The conversations I've had with Andy Burnham and his team are really encouraging for him in recognising that London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland all need more powers from Whitehall."
Reaction on social media
Viewers flocked to X to share their thoughts. One user wrote: "Once, Khan's reply would have been a masterclass in careful political evasion. Now, it's everything that's despised about the House of Commons solicitors."
Another said: "As I have lived in London for 55 years, I can honestly say that it has been turned into a s***hole. Mainly due to Khan." A third added: "What a load of s**t he's spouting."
