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\n And as he made his way to the mic, the absence of a lectern removed a physical obstacle between him and the audience. This enabled Burnham to be more open, more physical and more direct \u2013 while also being less formal. This lack of formality, however, did not dilute his prognosis and treatment of the problems facing the UK.<\/p>\n He acknowledged that he was the seventh prime minister since 2016, which led into his acceptance that he is assuming office in far from normal times. Burnham linked this to the argument that conventional politics is not working in the UK, and that \u201cthis moment will be a circuit-breaker\u201d that will represent a new \u201cpolitical model\u201d and \u201ceconomic model\u201d. <\/p>\n What\u2019s more, he drew upon the consequences of the Thatcher revolution of the 1980s, and its impact on those parts of the country that did not benefit. But invoking the 1980s highlights the criticism<\/a> that Burnham has yet to accept and move on from Thatcherism, which remains a \u201cgo-to\u201d criticism of global fiscal policy. More generally, he outlined plans to build more council homes, and to combat rough sleeping. To address these problems, Burnham promised a ten-year plan to reform how politics is conducted in the UK. <\/p>\n He is not, needless to say, the first to suggest radical changes to political structures are necessary. Indeed, then-deputy prime minister Nick Clegg promised a \u201cnew politics\u201d<\/a> way back in 2010. Now though, Burnham appears to be putting such change at the heart of his administration.<\/p>\n The speech was concise and concluded with a call to action \u2013 to believe in and have hope for Britain again. The extent to which he can be successful depends, of course, on economic realities. Costly plans given the UK\u2019s economic position may prove to be too expensive to deliver, given that taxation stands at record levels<\/a>, and growth<\/a> is anaemic.<\/p>\n Burnham, dubbed \u201cthe king of the north\u201d<\/a> by supporters during his tenure as mayor, in fact has a mixed record in Greater Manchester. Despite the city-region now being in greater debt<\/a> than before he became mayor, his reputation for success was built across the country during the COVID pandemic. At this time, he defended Manchester against decisions made by prime minister Boris Johnson. <\/p>\n
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\n Andy Burnham is the Labour leader \u2013 third time lucky for the UK\u2019s prime minister-in-waiting<\/a>
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\n\u2018Circuit-breaker\u2019<\/h2>\n
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