Laura Queensberg: Andy Burnham’s Labor Hunter or His Best Choice?

“Affable”, “warm”, and a close friend said he was “a great guy – politics is a relationship sport and it’s not done”.

One MP called it a “good bloke”, adding that “Voice will be the word of Manchester”. They describe his “social fluency”: the ability to communicate with colleagues and the public in real life and in social networks.

But there is a sarcastic question among many of his colleagues, and even one member of the public wrote on his Facebook page: “I have no doubt that I will enjoy a beer with you and we will talk about Joy Division and other important cultural things. But when does this decide whether a person is prime minister or not?”

There are nerves in Labor circles about what Burnham will do with power. An old friend told me: “Andy has great talent, but there are questions about how well developed[his]thinking is on some difficult things.”

Another wondered: “Can he dispel the perception that he is underweight?”

Not everyone is sure about it.

A senior party member said: “The eyelid will last for a day, maybe a week. But the examination is brutal. It won’t last for three months, it won’t matter for three years.”

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Several sources believe Burnham’s appointment of his former husband and colleague from the New Labor days, James Purnell, as chief of staff is a good sign. Not only because of Purnell’s experience, but also because of his growing hacks on the left (Purnell has recently worked with big business and is considered a Blairite).

The choice strikes me as evidence that Burnham is willing to make decisions that upset people. This comforted some members of the party. The prime minister’s job is to make choices that involve upsetting one group or the other and, to be honest, there is a concern that Burnham might find that difficult.

A government source told me: “The thing is, he likes to be liked and he likes to be liked. He has to be ready to be popular – and he has to face trade-offs – mayors don’t face trade-offs”.

“He’s very sensitive, he has feelings,” says one of his former colleagues. “How do you balance that with the need for tough skin, seeing things and taking on very exposed positions,” they ask.

But you don’t spend more than two decades in politics just worrying about pleasing people. Burnham regularly irritated Labor leaders during Keir Starmer’s tenure.

And one colleague, who worked closely with him in government, said his talent was not just about being good, “he doesn’t take no for an answer.”

They recall battles between the government and “hostile permanent secretaries” at the end of Labour’s tenure, who said they were “saving money for the next Tory government”.

“He fought them and won,” recalls Burnham’s partner. “It was amazing.”

Some of that doubt stems from a perceived lack of clarity about what Burnham wants to do beyond stepping into No.10. Really He wants to do it.

This will be third time lucky after failures in 2010 and 2015. We hear him talk about change, about making the country more equal, about protecting disadvantaged communities like the new constituency of Mackerfield. “Voice Andy – For Us,” goes the tagline.

But when it comes to details, it can seem a bit blurry.

That is why there is a heated political frenzy around his chancellorship. All the talk in Westminster is about Ed Miliband on the soft left or Wes Streeting on the Labor right or Home Secretary Shabana Mahmoud. The debate has become a proxy for Burnham’s overall sense of direction over who he will ultimately vote for (and perhaps, like Welfare Secretary Pat McFadden, a man less eager to see himself in political history).