Andy Burnham has revealed that his wife, Marie-France van Heel, needed convincing before he decided to run for Prime Minister, and that she has previously mocked his interviews for not answering questions directly. The new PM said her first reaction was “not again”, adding that she was always “blunt” about his “political failures”.
Wife's blunt honesty
Appearing on the How to Fail with Elizabeth Day podcast, the Makerfield MP explained how his wife reacted to his ambitions, which saw him replace Keir Starmer as leader. He said: “It's why I find this podcast easy because she's quite blunt in telling me about my failures in past endeavours and she doesn't hold back and there's no soft landing there.
“Yeah, she was like, ‘What? Not again. They told you twice they don't want you. Why are you doing it again?’ No, we've always just had honest conversations about it.
“She took some persuading, to be honest, because I guess she didn't want to see me go through it all again and then end out on the wrong side, at the end of it. But she gives me good advice.”
Past interview critiques
Mr Burnham said his wife had a history of honest reactions to his interviews, dating back to the early 2000s. He recalled: “I would come out and I'd turn my phone on, the old Nokia mobile phone and first text in block capitals from said person, this is what it would read, 'Answer the f***ing question.'”
Emotional moment at care home
Mr Burnham also shared that something “wonderful” had happened at the care home of his dad. A visibly emotional PM said: “I went into his care home on Sunday, and so for people listening now, because this may have gone out later, this was the Sunday after I'd become Prime Minister, so six days later. One of the staff said, ‘Oh, the manager wants to speak to you before you leave.’
“She said, ‘We all knew what time you might be coming up Downing Street so we got Roy in his chair, and we got the telly right in front of him, and six of us stood around him and all said, ‘Roy, look.’ And she said he turned and momentarily, they said, ‘We thought he knew.’”
