Burnham plans summer tour of UK to win over voters in Labour ‘danger zones’

Andy Burnham, who is widely expected to take over as prime minister, reportedly plans to make lots of announcements during summer recess. Photograph: News Images/NurPhoto/Shutterstock View image in fullscreen Andy Burnham, who is widely expected to take over as prime minister, reportedly plans to make lots of announcements during summer recess. Photograph: News Images/NurPhoto/Shutterstock Burnham plans summer tour of UK to win over voters in Labour ‘danger zones’ Exclusive: Prospective PM wants to give the country a hopeful message, in contrast with Starmer’s early missteps UK politics live – latest updates Andy Burnham will undertake a summer tour as prime minister to Labour “danger zones” across the country where the party has been losing support, particularly areas hit by controversial government policies. Burnham is planning the tour for the second half of the summer recess, with the aim of resetting Labour’s relationship with some of the UK’s most sceptical voters. Insiders said the tone would be upbeat and hopeful, intended to be the opposite of Keir Starmer’s early days in office which focused heavily on failures left behind by the Conservatives. Burnham would emphasise it was Labour and the government that needed to change, rather than blaming other parties or external forces. “His pitch will be about resetting the relationship with the voters, a more hopeful message that people seem to be receptive to. There are really difficult conversations to be had with people and communities across the country and he’ll go out and have those,” one source said. 10:20 How would PM-in-waiting Andy Burnham change Britain? | The Latest Among the places he is expected to visit is Aberdeen, where Labour’s North Sea oil and gas policy has been deeply unpopular, as well as Port Talbot in Wales, the steelmaking town whose final blast furnace was shut down in September 2024. Labour went on to save steelmaking jobs in Scunthorpe, through nationalising British Steel . Burnham is also expected to visit more Reform-facing parts of the UK, described by allies as places “left behind” by Westminster and where people have felt little real change from the Labour government’s policies so far. These will include deprived and remote parts of the south of England – many of which are now represented by Labour MPs – other towns where industry and high streets have been affected by the turbulent economy, and rural constituencies where farmers have been angered by Labour’s tax policies. Burnham’s strategists will aim to start his premiership in the opposite tenor to Starmer’s first few months. Starmer used an early speech to emphasise how the next few years would be “painful” and that he did not expect living standards to increase quickly. The summer months in 2024 were dominated by the fallout from the unexpected decision by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to cut the winter fuel allowance , and the donations scandal where clothing for Starmer and other cabinet ministers was r