Prime Ministers or Premier League Managers?

Jenny Lomax

Aug 3

6 min read

Shock resignation leads to the signing of charismatic Northwest boy Andy Burnham.

Hailing from Aintree, he has previously managed Leigh before his high profile move to Manchester. Following an unorthodox switch to MP for Makerfield, has the King of the Bee Network got what it takes to manage the Labour Party?

In recent history JC was a fan favourite with his honest, direct and passionate style. Despite his popularity with fans, he didn't have the confidence of the corporate ownership.

Starmer was brought in, believed to be the steady hand on the tiller that Labour needed, claiming similar ideas to his predecessor but with a less radical approach.

Less radical soon shifted to uninspiring, so Labour looked to the north to see if Burnham has what it takes to bring passion back to the party.

On Monday 22nd June Keir Starmer resigned as Prime Minister.

Starmer resigned as Prime Minister following a landslide win in the Makerfield by-election for Andy Burnham.

Without an abundance of context, one should not result in the other. Former Manchester Mayor, Aintree's very own Andy Burnham has endeared himself to the public, especially up north, for a few years now. One of his headline achievements being the Bee Network in Manchester, which has paved the way for a £2 cap on bus prices across the country. He has an approachable nature, whispers of a regional accent and throughout his time as Mayor of Manchester has made some compelling claims.

His initial bid to launch a challenge against Keir Starmer began in January 2026, when he wanted to stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election and was blocked. The Green Party's Hannah Spencer was subsequently elected MP for Gorton and Denton. Blocking Burnham from running was deemed to be an acknowledgement of the threat Burnham posed to Starmer’s position as Prime Minister. In May, Burnham was permitted to run in the Makerfield by-election. Andy Burnham’s win was the death knell for Starmer’s time as Prime Minister.

Keir Starmer's rise to power was born out of his campaign alongside Jeremy Corbyn. In 2019 the prospect of Corbyn as Prime Minister captured the imagination of so many, myself included. When Corbyn was unsuccessful in the 2019 General Election, Keir Starmer was voted the next Labour leader. In the wake of the Labour loss in 2019 I was one of the people who became a member of the Labour party in order to vote for Starmer as the next leader. He was presented to the party as the version of Corbyn that was more palatable to the establishment and the mainstream media. Starmer had established himself as a successful human rights campaigner in his career as a barrister prior to his career in politics. Having aligned himself with a number of Corbyn’s flagship policies, I voted for him in the leadership contest.

In July 2024 He was elected Prime Minister, seemingly it was all downhill from there.

While Starmer's term as prime minister has ended with a whimper (literally), I think it is only right to draw attention to the policies I think can be considered as wins. I believe one of the most welcome and potentially memorable is the Renters Rights Act 2026.

The Renters Rights Act came into effect on the 1^st May 2026. Most notably it brought an end to no fault evictions, stipulated all tenancies automatically become rolling tenancies, landlords are only permitted to increase rent once a year and the increase must be in line with open market rates, and landlords cannot unreasonably refuse a tenant request for a pet.

This policy feels like a huge step towards taking power away from landlords and placing more power in the hands of the tenants. In my view this is the biggest win for Starmer’s Labour.

Another policy that could be perceived as a win, for some, is the proposed social media ban for under 16s. Off the back of a public consultation which ran from March-May 2026, the proposed changes aim to protect children from harmful content online. The proposed plan is said to follow the model that has already taken effect in Australia. This would block under 16s from having access to Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook and X. 

I believe that while the core principles of this proposed policy are well intentioned, the legislation is yet to be fully formed, and it is not clear how it will be implemented or how the government proposes to combat VPN usage to circumvent restrictions, for example. It also concerns me that the impact of banning something, especially for teenagers, is likely to encourage them to be more secretive when it comes to accessing content online. Which is likely to be counterproductive when the aim is to protect young people online.

Alongside the ban, there is said to be investment in enrichment programmes from both the Department for Culture, Media and Sport as well as the Department for Education, aimed at moving children away from their phones towards enjoyable activities in an attempt to combat the feeling of social isolation amongst young people. Ban or no ban, I believe investment of this nature is extremely important and encouraging to see funds being set aside for sports, youth centres, libraries, arts venues and museums. I am hopeful investment like this is set to continue.

When looking at the last two years, whilst there have been limited successes under Starmer in my view, these are completely overshadowed by his failures.

At the beginning of this year, Starmer faced criticism for his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as US ambassador. This came following the release of the Epstein files which detailed Mandelson’s ongoing involvement with Jeffrey Epstein from as early as 2002. Mandelson resigned from the House of Lords 3^rd February 2026 and was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office on 23^rd February 2026.

For me, and I suspect many others, the most egregious failure is the government’s complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza. I acknowledge the complexity of the issues from a geopolitical perspective, and the balancing act politicians feel the need to perform when it comes to Israel when considering their close allegiance with the United States, coupled with the precarious nature of the United States current leader. However, it defies comprehension for me that a former human rights lawyer could show such a lack of conviction in the face of such atrocities. Especially when considering the ICJ advisory opinion has stated since 2024:

“The sustained abuse by Israel of its position as an occupying power, through annexation and an assertion of permanent control over the occupied Palestinian territory and continued frustration of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, violates fundamental principles of international law and renders Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful.”

https://www.un.org/unispal/document/draft-resolution-icj-advisory-palestine-11sep24/

Recently, Andy Burnham has criticized the Labour response to the situation in Gaza. When listening to the statement, I was impressed by how balanced it was. That being said, it still feels somewhat non-committal and a continuation of what has gone before, whilst trying to present as something different.

Labour under Starmer's position on Palestine has alienated many historic and potential voters in my view. I believe this has contributed significantly to the growth in the popularity of the Green Party whose position has been visibly pro Palestine. Can Burnham’s Labour do enough to win back those Starmer has alienated? Is the appointment of Ed Miliband as Foreign Secretary a step in the right direction? We will have to wait and see.

Does a mid-season change of personnel mean the Labour Party will be reinvigorated? Does Andy Burnham offer change from the status quo?

In the short time he has held the title of Prime Minister, Burnham has been quick to set out his plans and ambitions for the next few years.

First things first, he has has opened a Headquarters in Manchester, Number 10 North. Having built his career in the Northwest it seems only fitting. The move signals Burnham’s commitment to the devolution of power away from Downing Street and towards local government. I thought the announcement of Number 10 North was merely an intelligent bit of PR, until Burnham announced last week that English regional mayors will keep a share of income tax generated in their area from 2028, in order for the tax raised within each community to remain within that community. Alongside this, the new PM will be asking Ministers to provide him with justification as to why certain powers cannot be devolved away from Whitehall. It remains to be seen how this devolution of powers will impact Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Burnham has also cut business rates for pubs, clubs and music venues, extended the £2 bus fare to the rest of England, announced a VAT cut on electricity bills and has also announced his desire to work collaboratively with Conservative and Liberal Democrat leaders on plans to reform the social care system.

So far, it looks as though the new prime minister is moving quickly to prove he is on a mission to get things done. It is early days, but it feels like Burnham is saying and doing plenty of things right in his bid to win over the general public.

Is replacing Starmer with Burnham a case of a panicked call to Sam Allardyce to shore up the team and hope to prevent relegation? Or are we hailing the arrival of the Special One and seeing the beginnings of a long and fruitful period at the top?