The revolving door of No 10 Downing Street, has been dubbed the UK’s most in-demand Airbnb. Another new occupant – the seventh British prime minister in a decade – will arrive in a few days’ time.
Once seen as a beacon of stable democracy, it’s been musical chairs in the Mother of Parliaments for the 10 years since the “Brexit” vote that triggered the UK’s departure from the European Union. Capriciousness exists where once predictability ruled.
The new incumbent, Andy Burnham, is little known outside the UK and comes to high office in unique circumstances. He served as an MP from 2001 to 2017 and held various cabinet roles. After two unsuccessful bids for the leadership of the Labour Party while it was in opposition, he quit Westminster and served as the elected Mayor of Greater Manchester for nine years.
His return to Parliament as the MP for Makerfield – a working-class constituency at the edge of Manchester – is one of the greatest heists of the modern political era.
Viewed by many Labour MPs as a “king over the water”, or pretender to the throne, Burnham’s path to power was cleared by the resignation of a sitting MP in a seat that Labour has held for more than 40…
