Kemi Badenoch has launched a blistering attack on Prime Minister Andy Burnham, comparing him to Liz Truss and accusing him of thinking like a mayor rather than a national leader. The Conservative leader staged a rooftop press conference along the Thames to deliver her verdict on the new Labour leader.
Badenoch's Attack
Standing in the July sunshine, Badenoch said: 'He is behaving like he's still the mayor of Manchester. He is now the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He needs to start acting like it.' She dismissed his announcements on cheaper bus fares, electricity bills and help for pubs as 'mayor of Manchester ideas'.
'Andy Burnham's ambitions for Britain are too small,' she declared, adding: 'Russia will not be deterred by more devolution.'
Comparison to Liz Truss
In her most audacious move, Badenoch compared Burnham to former Conservative prime minister Liz Truss, whose premiership ended after her mini-Budget. 'Four years ago, a prime minister announced policies without making savings to pay for them, and it didn't end very well,' she said.
Badenoch portrayed Burnham as a 'nice guy' who 'dances well enough' but offers 'small answers to big problems'. She contrasted his mayoral experience with the demands of being prime minister: 'A mayor doesn't have to fund the army. A Prime Minister does.'
Scorn for Labour Cabinet
The Tory leader also expressed contempt for Labour MPs, describing the Cabinet as 'terrifying' because they are 'not the people that are going to turn the country around', pointing to backgrounds in charities, the public sector and trade unions. She accused Burnham of 'governing just for his constituents because he didn't have a plan beyond his constituency casework'.
Burnham, who has not yet finished his first week as PM, may grimace at the thought that this is just the start of her onslaught. The attack signals that Badenoch is confident in her position and casting herself as a PM-in-waiting, presenting Burnham as a leader with small ideas for big problems.
