On Burnham's Blueprint

There was one occasion during Keir Starmer's leadership that I felt a frisson of hope. That was during Gordon Brown's report back on his commission on the UK's constitution. Its devolutionary agenda and programme of, by Labourist standards, radical reforms set out a convincing plan of state modernisation. But because nice things aren't allowed in politics, nearly all of was decanted into the memory hole. But not before Starmer had publicly endorsed the proposals. And here we are again. Andy Burnham's speech at the People's Museum was very good. No more pregnant pauses between short sentences for sound bites, no more dead-eyed staring at the camera, no prevarication. From a delivery point of view, Burnham spoke like most people, and came across plainly, coherently and, at times, passionately. Labour MPs versed in the Blair-era school of public speaking would do well to study this speech. Though putting on a Manchester accent might be too much. What matters most is the content. And as…