Burnham brings emotional connection and optimism in vibe shift from Starmer

Andy Burnham at the event at the People’s History Museum in Manchester. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Andy Burnham at the event at the People’s History Museum in Manchester. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Analysis Burnham brings emotional connection and optimism in vibe shift from Starmer Pippa Crerar Political editor Labour MPs value Burnham’s warmth as a communicator but they know that will not be enough on its own When Keir Starmer welcomed Mark Rutte , the Nato secretary general, outside No 10 on Monday, the attire fitted the moment: dark formal suits, polished leather shoes. Almost 200 miles to the north, when Andy Burnham strode into the engine hall of the People’s History Museum in Manchester, the vibe could not have been more different. Dressed in his trademark dark T-shirt and jacket, Burnham could just as easily have been walking down the street outside. He even began with a joke about his thigh-skimming running shorts, after he was pictured going for a jog the morning after announcing his return to parliament, telling the assembled audience he had bought a new pair as it was “either do that or change the decency laws”. But the differences between Starmer and the man who intends to succeed him are not just superficial. As far as Labour MPs are concerned, there are three key distinctions: the power to communicate, the power to make an argument and the power to give people hope. In all three, they have concluded, Starmer has been lacking. While Burnham’s speech was heavy on policy mechanics, his team will hope it is the emotional connection he sought to strike with voters that really registers. “‘What hope can we have that it will be different this time?’ That is the question I would be asking if I was a voter right now,” he said. “Westminster has not been working for people and it has not been working for a very long time. In fact, it is broken. And as a result, the country isn’t where it should be. It is stuck in a rut, and clearly we can’t go on like this.” Burnham crafted an argument about what had gone wrong with the British political system – one that Starmer, for all his attempts, has struggled to land – and how he would fix it with a massive devolution of power and resources. And he attempted to inject a note of optimism, after criticism that Starmer hadn’t offered enough during his two years in office, focusing too heavily on hard truths and defining Labour by what it was against as much as what it was for. “I hope people can begin to feel – hopefully you can – the excitement that comes with the change that I am setting out today,” Burnham told his audience. “It promises a new era of possibility for Britain. Possibility for places that haven’t felt it for a very long time … Let’s give them that feeling, that ability to hope, to aspire for better.” Of course, one speech cannot in itself change a country, and Labour MPs know that replacing Starmer with a more “vibesy” successor gives th