If
government and politics are a necessary evil then it is also said to be the art
of the possible, reflecting the messy real-world intrusions and limitations of
human autonomy. Politicians must invariably broker against a bewildering array
of mutually irreconcilable demands and attempt to balance ideological
partisanship with realism whether through constructive ambiguity or other means
of temporarily placating the perpetual instability at the heart of governance.
Andy
Burnham arguably resides within this realm of constructive ambiguity, a
relatively unsullied Labour politician who by dint of his popular mayoral
sabbatical from Westminster enjoys a unique net positive approval rating (Nurse
2026). Burnham appears to have refreshed his political persona at different
stages in his career, from an enthusiastic Blairite to an affable soft leftist
presence and corrective to the inept and centre-right leaning Starmer government.
Naturally there is suspicion that Burnham’s pivot to the left could prove to be
a disingenuous ruse similar to Starmer’s ten pledges. Burnham is already giving
cause for concern on immigration, the EU, electoral reform and public ownership
(Jones 2026). Politicians are accustomed to giving themselves sufficient wiggle
room in their policy statements, linguistic sleight of hand allows them to
backtrack accordingly in the service of realpolitik.
Allowing for the fact that Burnham may be a good faith actor, just what
is going on between camp Burnham and Josh Simons, the previous director of
Labour Together and ally of Morgan McSweeney who deployed dirty tricks against
his critics? Why would Simons stand down as an MP to enable a possible
transition to a new soft left Prime Minister? Some commentators are suggesting
that Simons is on a redemption arc in atoning for previous misdemeanours.
Others suggest a conspiracy may be afoot and that Burnham is walking into a
trap in a gig that is far from certain that he will win. Simons resigned as a
Cabinet office minister back in February this year when he felt his position
had become untenable due to the emerging scandal of the dirty tricks campaign
against journalists investigating financial irregularities as Simons’s
thinktank Labour Together (Dyer and Sabbagh 2026).
Perhaps having felt a once promising ministerial career was no longer
tenable it seems an opportunistic Simons decided to cut his loses, especially
given the defenestration of Peter Mandelson (September 2025) and McSweeney
(February 2026). Could it be that Simons is hedging his bets having realised
that Starmer is on borrowed time? Whilst Burnham is far from assured of victory
in the June 18th by-election, Simons probably enjoys something of a win-win
situation whatever the outcome. Either Burnham fails which seriously weakens
Labour’s soft left or he wins and provides a compensatory lifeboat for a key
operator of the Labour right.
Burnham Conundrum.docx
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