As 30% of the British population seem to be infatuated with Nigel Farage, his populist party Reform winning control of ten local authorities at the County Council elections in May, gaining a Labour parliamentary seat in Runcorn, and securing a credible vote in a recent Scottish parliamentary by-election. Far from the calm political waters that Keir Starmer promised, the UK continues to be a turbulent place.
Even before it has celebrated its first anniversary in government, the next General Election is being viewed with some trepidation by Labour MP’s, with the so-called ‘Red Wall’ – those traditional Labour strongholds in the Midlands and the North that fell to the Tories in 2019 – is once again set to be the key battleground.
Labour may have a healthy parliamentary majority. But, if they are serious about devolving cash and power to mayors and local government leaders, then the last thing they will want is to be putting the fate of their ambitious growth agenda into the hands of inexperienced, unfriendly political rivals. Starmer not only needs to deliver long term results to maintain his advantage in Westminster – he needs to stop Farage from eating into Labour’s local government base in the Red Wall. They need a big, bold move.
Appointing Andy Burnham as Minister for the North could be exactly that.
Burnham – currently the Mayor of Greater Manchester, – is not just popular in his own city-region. He is arguably the highest-profile regional leader in the country, and he has built a genuine following across the North and beyond thanks to his straight-talking, no-nonsense style, and his visible leadership during times of crisis, memorably during the pandemic when he stood up to Downing Street over lockdown funding.
Even during the past year, he hasn’t been slow to criticise the government-line, with a sharp criticism of Rachel Reeves over the Chancellor’s announcement of a third runway for Heathrow, and a much more politically savvy response than that of his Westminster colleagues to the grooming gangs scandal six-months ago.
Like it or not, Burnham is a retail politician who connects with voters who the current Labour leadership is struggling to reach. Creating a Cabinet-level Minister for the North and giving Burnham the job would send a powerful signal: that Labour is serious about levelling-up, serious about regional devolution, and serious about bringing power closer to the people.
It would also show that the party is ready to challenge the London-centric status quo that Farage rails against – championed by one of the few political personalities on the progressive wing of politics who is able to speak to people in a language that they understand and believe.
The truth is that Reforms rise isn’t inevitable or unstoppable. But if Labour doesn’t match Farage’s fire with its own northern star, it risks losing the very voters it needs to win.
If you want to beat Farage in the Red Wall – appoint Andy Burnham.
