Alastair Campbell has written a commentary arguing that Andy Burnham, the UK's seventh prime minister in just over a decade, embodies "persevilience" — a portmanteau of perseverance and resilience. Campbell describes the word as a positive force and mindset "to get good from bad," which matters to wellbeing and politics alike.
Campbell, a Labour supporter, notes that while Keir Starmer became prime minister by not being the Conservatives, Burnham became prime minister partly by not being Starmer. He suggests Burnham's long-term survival is necessary to prevent the notion taking hold that a country once admired for its political stability is becoming ungovernable.
Early signs and a thread of beliefs
Campbell cites three reasons for hope. First, Burnham has been around a long time, has bundles of energy, still seems to love a challenge and really likes dealing with people. Second, he has grown considerably in stature. Campbell has known him since the mid-1990s, when Burnham was a young parliamentary assistant to Labour MP Tessa Jowell.
Early in his premiership, Burnham addressed big issues that have driven him for years: social care reform, which he first proposed as health secretary in 2009; vocational and technical education; and devolution from Westminster to the UK's cities and regions. Campbell writes that "there is a thread to his beliefs."
Learning from setbacks
Third, Burnham has learned from setbacks. He fought and lost two leadership elections but was honest enough to realise it was partly down to his own mistakes. Campbell notes that some leadership hopefuls give up after one shot, even more after two, but Burnham didn't let the pain of defeat deter him.
The biggest single setback came when, as culture secretary, he attended the 20th anniversary memorial for the victims of the Hillsborough stadium tragedy of 1989, in which 97 Liverpool football supporters died, and was booed and heckled by sections of the crowd at Anfield. Campbell recorded in his diary: "I really felt sorry for him, especially as he had pushed so hard for the Hillsborough families."
Iron in the soul
Burnham reflected that he hadn't pushed hard enough and that the state had done everything it could to evade the truth out of disrespect for the people of Liverpool and working-class people. From the next day, when he spoke about it in a Cabinet meeting, he never let up in the fight for truth and justice. Campbell writes: "I do not think it is an overstatement to say the iron entered his soul."
The incident crystallised for Burnham the chasm between Westminster politics and the real needs of working-class people. His performance as mayor, allied to better political and communications skills, created the sense of inevitability that he would replace Starmer. "Burnham's persevilience simply overpowered Starmer's resilience," Campbell writes.
Burnham has the same values as he always had, but is not the same person — tougher, sharper, more focused, more ruthless, still wearing his heart on his sleeve but always in control of his emotions. Whether he is a truly persevilient prime minister depends on how long he lasts and what he does with that time in power. As he settles into the job, Campbell concludes, the persevilience signs are good.
