Andy Burnham's Big Promises – Now Comes the Difficult Part
Andy Burnham in 2012 (Photo: Andrew Page) Britain has a new Prime Minister. Andy Burnham becomes the seventh person to lead the country in little more than a decade, inheriting a nation that is weary not only of economic stagnation and overstretched public services but of politics itself. His first speech outside Number 10 recognised that reality with unusual honesty. "I am acutely conscious that I am the sixth person in the last 10 years to walk up this street... I know people at home are fed up with politics. I hear you and I want to be honest with you: we have not been good enough and we need to be better." On that point, he is undoubtedly correct. British politics has become a merry-go-round of leaders, slogans and relaunches. Every incoming Prime Minister promises to reset politics, only for the cycle to repeat itself. Burnham deserves credit for acknowledging that voters have lost faith, not just in one government or one party, but increasingly in politics as a whole. T...
