On the terrace of parliament, only two stories dominate this evening. The first is the end of Keir Starmer, who this lunchtime faced Prime Minister’s Questions for the final time. The second, much more exciting event, is England versus Argentina in the World Cup semi-final tonight. It was only appropriate, therefore, that Starmer’s successor, Andy Burnham, has sought to tie the two together in one of the few interviews he has given prior to entering No. 10. Since a poor performance on Newsnight during the Makerfield by-election, Burnham has sat down for only one full-length broadcast grilling – despite being about to take over the nuclear codes for a G7 country.
Tonight though, he made it two, sitting down with former England striker Gary Lineker for a gentle chat on the latter’s Goalhanger podcast series. Cue all of Westminster tuning in to hear a mix of musings about Everton, the Hillsborough law and, er, Donald Trump. Lineker, a fellow man of the soft left, coaxed few lines out of Burnham in the 19-minute exchange. His strategy for handling the American President is simple: be himself. ‘I’ll just meet him where he’s at,’ said Burnham. ‘I like to think I’ve got some personality myself and I’ll deal with him very upfront in the same way I think he likes people to deal with him.’
The ex-mayor of Greater Manchester said: ‘It’s about respecting the office, the relationship, the UK-US relationship, but where you disagree, do it, but do it in a way that is kind of meeting him where he’s at.’ Let’s see how that one works out, eh? Burnham might at least have one advantage over Starmer: the expectation in Whitehall circles is that Sir Olly Robbins, the sacked boss of the Foreign Office, will get a senior role under the new regime.
Burnham’s pick for chancellor will be the biggest decision he makes when he reveals his cabinet next Monday. Amid increasing expectation that Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, will be appointed, Burnham refused to rule out a wealth tax when talking to Lineker. Suggesting that people might have to pay ‘a little more’ because of the state of public finances, he said: ‘We are going to have to work quite hard to make sure we can pay our way.’ Cue much speculation about what that might mean. Asked about the cost of living, Burnham spoke in generalities, saying: ‘We just need to work, I think, to try and bring a bit of a lift to people, a greater sense of hope back.’
Hope will come, of course, if Thomas Tuchel manages to achieve tonight what Lineker and Bobby Robson could not: make their way to a first World Cup final since 1966. Thus far, Burnham has shown himself to be a lucky general. Opposition to his premiership has melted away remarkably quickly since he won the Makerfield by-election. But much like England in the World Cup, Burnham is about to find that the competition is going to get a lot tougher.
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