What we’ve learned from Andy Burnham’s first week as prime minister

By Martin Farr, Senior Lecturer in Contemporary British History, Newcastle University

The changing of prime ministers, rather than marking epochs, has become rather commonplace. For the politically minded, that doesn’t mean that each is without the hovering of Tony Blair’s “hand of history”. A new premiership may last 49 days, or ten years. But a truly remarkable set of circumstances would be needed for Andy Burnham’s term to be fewer than three years. Labour is not a party to defenestrate its leaders. Keir Starmer achieved an unwanted first.

In Downing Street on Monday, a day of uncompromising…

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