Can Burnham's casual style survive contact with No 10?

Image source, PA Media By Joshua Nevett & Kate Whannel Political reporters Published 2 minutes ago Andy Burnham has lots to think about as his arrival in Downing Street draws closer - the cost of living, the ongoing war in Ukraine, how to fund defence to name just three. At some point though, he'll have to find time to decide what to wear. The MP for Makerfield has sometimes been accused of changing his political clothes, and on his journey from Manchester to London, he changed his actual clothes. He boarded the train at Manchester Piccadilly in his trademark dark T-shirt, trousers and Adidas trainers only to emerge, more than two hours later, at London Euston in a suit. Twenty minutes later, he turned up in Parliament, having added a tie to his ensemble. Image source, PA/Getty Images Was this wardrobe change a symbolic gesture - Burnham signalling that with his move from Greater Manchester mayor to prime minister he would be adopting a more formal style in the job? Or was it a one-off, with Burnham planning to maintain his "Manchester clothes" - which have been variously described as "normcore," "centrist dad" and "The Smiths meets Britpop" - once he gets the keys to No 10. Emma Finamore, features editor at Drapers Magazine has dubbed Burnham , external "the king of the casuals". His look is considered "smart" but "less formal than other politicians", she says. "It's aspirational but attainable. A lot of the stuff he wears isn't outside the realm of possibility." Harrington jackets, high-street staples such as polo shirts from Uniqlo and Wallabees from Clarks, are often part of the "smart-Manc" costume, characterised by a deliberate departure from the traditional suit-and-tie uniform of the SW1 postcode. But if he does return to ties and suits as prime minister, it will only be a regression to his previous Westminster look. Pre-2020, Burnham was more often seen in a suit than without one. In photos from his second Labour leadership campaign in 2015, he is suited and booted sitting next to one of his rival candidates, the far more casual Jeremy Corbyn. The tie-less, suit-less Corbyn romped to victory in that contest, beating Burnham into second place. Image source, Getty Images After leaving Westminster, Burnham similarly began to dispense with ties and jackets. Speaking to the Guardian in 2022, he said: "I remember, when I left, slowly realising: 'I don't have to do this any more.' "What I would have worn to the match at weekends, I just started wearing. It was an evolution and I'm not going back." His Howick jacket - the one he wore when making his angry intervention in the Covid lockdown debates - has become an exhibit in Manchester's People's History Museum. Finamore says Burnham is "a savvy enough politician to know when he can wear some things and when he can't. He will have to abide by dress codes. "I don't think he will go back fully. He has got that confidence. He seems to have found his political identity and also his style as mayor of