As the nation prepares itself for the effective coronation of a prime minister who has neither a manifesto nor a mandate from anyone save the 24,927 who voted for him in Makerfield, it’s fair to say an open canvas awaits Andy Burnham and his administration.
Going to great lengths to avoid virtually all interviews and in the absence of a plan – and noting he didn’t even stand on Labour’s manifesto two years ago – here’s my “Top 10 for No 10,” a to-do list inspired by the concerns and desires we have shared on this page, and in your responses on the letters’ page, over the last 24 months.
1. Benefits
You can chart Sir Keir Starmer’s collapse in power to the moment, a little over a year ago, when he submitted to his backbenchers’ fury and backed down over very minor attempts to trim the welfare budget, currently on course to hit £400billion before too long. If Burnham has any bottle, he’ll move on this – but watch this space.
2. Boats
Just as the inanity of Rishi Sunak’s “Stop the Boats” slogan proved much of his undoing, so “Smash the Gangs” has sounded equally risible as the numbers continue to swell – 128 migrants arrived in ONE boat 10 days ago. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood (who MUST be allowed to stay in post despite upsetting many of her bleeding heart colleagues) has to be supported with her hard-line reform package.
3. Borrowing
The harsh economic truth that under Starmer, his deluded Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been allowed to borrow an additional near quarter of a TRILLION pounds shows the usual economic incompetence expected from Labour regimes. Burnham must choose his chancellor carefully – and Ed Miliband would be plain stupid.
4. Growth
Very much tied in with borrowing above, a first-year economics student can tell you that growth is not achieved by raising taxes on businesses and the hiring of staff. And the continual boast “we have the fastest growth among our G7 competitors” is bluff and nonsense. At 0.1% in May, growth is anaemic, and it’s akin to saying we’re not getting poor as quickly as our neighbours.
5. Defence
This is the area where we move to being a global embarrassment. Called out by a veritable platoon of former military top brass, as well as Lord Robertson, the former NATO chief and Labour defence secretary, we have slipped from being a NATO champion to virtually being on the scrounge. New PM Burnham would do well to remember the first duty of any government is the protection of its citizens.
6. Net zero
The unseemly and unjustifiable rush to net zero can be seen to have cost the nation jobs, inward investment and even increased our own energy bills. We are being cajoled into electric vehicles, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but we are lamentably behind the required national charging infrastructure, and even some motor manufacturers are applying the brakes to production. Burnham needs to turn down the power in this area.
7. Police
Rarely has the relationship between “us and them” (the public and the police) felt so fractured. Aided by weak senior officers who place diversity training and taking part in Pride marches ahead of nicking villains, a tough approach and return to the basic principles of a police force are vital here.
8. Courts
Like too many of our police chiefs, judges seem increasingly out of touch with how ordinary, decent people who pay their wages and the bill for their security, are really feeling about law and order. A rash of inexplicably lenient sentences being overturned of late supports that. A prime minister (rightly) does not control the judiciary. But, as with the summer riots, a tone can, and should, be set.
9. NHS
With an organisation as labyrinthine as our health service, any set of statistics can be dredged up to support just about any story. But the reality is seen at A&E units nationwide, and continues to be wholly unacceptable.
10. SEND
The provision of education to so many young people who require additional help shames the nation as local authorities do everything they can to avoid paying the required costs. A display of compassion here would be life changing to so many.
