Andy Burnham has a lot of questions to answer, writes Bethany Dawson

He’s made huge strides as Mayor of Greater Manchester, securing an impressive legacy after transforming the region's transport system, introducing the publicly controlled ‘Bee Network’ and getting his famous ‘King of the North’ nickname after he accused the Conservative government of treating the north with "contempt" over regional Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

That has given him an impressive list of accolades that have helped him come back to Westminster — but being Prime Minister is very different to a Mayor.

On his way down to Westminster on Monday, he confirmed that he would run to be Labour leader. When he got to SW1, there was absolutely a feeling that this man is the next prime minister — but he’s not yet set anything out.

After speaking to ministers and MPs, they clearly have a lot of questions for the wannabe Labour leader.

For example, he’s not given an inkling of how he will manage the Defence Investment Plan, the much-debated and much-delayed fiscal settlement for defence that saw Defence Secretary John Healey resign.

How will we manage looming welfare reforms, NHS waiting lists or the transition to net zero?

Will his Northern charm work on Donald Trump? How will he navigate the war in Ukraine, or our relationship with Europe?

Then there’s the question of his team. Who will be his Chancellor? Over the weekend, we heard that it could be Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband or former Health Secretary Wes Streeting — three very different politicians.

This is just a snippet of the questions already lining his in-tray.

If he becomes Prime Minister, Andy Burnham has just three years to save Labour’s chances at the polls.

But standing in Westminster on the day he was sworn in, there was a feeling that — even though these huge questions have yet to be answered — his place in Number 10 is a done deal.

Multiple MPs told me that for the first time in a long time, they feel hopeful. And this isn’t just those who are natural Burnham-ites.

One of the people who said they felt like things were looking up for the party was Joe Morris, a Labour MP who resigned as a ministerial aide to then Health Secretary Wes Streeting in protest at Starmer’s leadership, saying that the dismal local election results showed Starmer had “lost the confidence of the public.”

A Streeting ally, today Morris told LBC that “I feel significantly more optimistic now that I have since the winter fuel announcement.”

There are many questions that Andy Burnham needs to answer, and if he does become prime minister, it is going to be a tough job.

But standing in parliament’s Westminster Hall today, when he was welcomed by rapturous applause from his Labour MP colleagues — some of whom asked the Makerfield MP for autographs when they walked by him — it was clear that there is overwhelming support for Andy Burnham.

But as Keir Starmer’s last two years have shown, that can change very quickly.

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Bethany Dawson is LBC's Political Correspondent.

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