The country is watching Burnham glide through a rare honeymoon but the way he’s been performing for the camera is starting to look like it costs more than anyone admits.
Westminster Insider (Image: DX)
Credit where credit is due, Andy Burnham has got off to a better start to his premiership than his hapless predecessor. Keir Starmer seemed to stumble from one calamity to another almost from the very moment he set foot in No 10. Talk about honeymoons. Starmer barely got out of the departure lounge. Burnham on the other hand has enjoyed a largely comfortable first two months in office.
Andy Burnham in Ukraine (Image: Getty)
It has helped that he’s not had to face much scrutiny since becoming Prime Minister, while rival leaders, Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage, have pretty much left him alone too.
In Burnham speak, it has given him “breathing space” to swan around the country dishing out a few goodies – like capping bus fares at £2, help for pubs and scrapping VAT on electricity bills.
And, of course, it’s all done with a huge dollop of social media panache.
Burnham was in Ukraine this week – his first foreign trip as PM – to reiterate Britain’s support for the war-ravaged country.
So far, so good.
However, some in Westminster are feeling uneasy about the Prime Minister strumming an electric guitar alongside a soldier during his visit.
Yes, it shows off a cool, relaxed leader and that it brings some light to a very dark situation and sticks two fingers up to Vladimir Putin.
But more than half a million Ukrainian citizens and soldiers have either died or been wounded since the conflict began. Millions of lives have been decimated.
One veteran former cabinet minister said to me: “There is a bloody war on and he’s acting like he’s at f***ing Glastonbury.”
Another experienced communications expert cautioned: “It was perhaps a PR stunt too far”.
Maybe they don’t like the Smiths – Burnham was playing chords from the Manchester band’s song “Rusholme Ruffians”.
Kemi Badenoch (Image: Getty Images)
Or maybe they’re right and the Prime Minister needs to hang up his guitar and tone down the social media and get on with fixing some very serious problems facing the country.
He’d better make the most of this week as MPs return from their Summer slumber on Tuesday and things are going to get tough.
It was also a tricky week on the publicity front for Kemi Badenoch.
The rather glamorous looking Tory leader was pictured having a coffee with Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni in Rome on Monday.
Nothing wrong with that, I hear you say.
But the story that emerged in the Times, the newspaper of record, was of one where Ms Meloni had urged her right-wing counterpart not to form a pact with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
It turned out not to be entirely correct and the Italians were said to be furious.
I’m not sure what Horlicks translates to in Italian but someone cocked-up.
Anyhow, back to full throttle next week when we have Burnham’s first “proper” day as PM, what promises to be a humdinger of a PMQs and then it’s all off to the charming surrounds of Birmingham’s NEC for Reform’s party conference.
Rock ‘n’ Roll!!