What Burnham lacked in detail, he made up for in vision and optimism, writes Natasha Clark

Confident, relaxed, and in his happy place of Manchester, Mr Burnham looked comfortable and determined as he took to the podium for his first major campaign speech.

In his traditional uniform of a dark t-shirt and blazer, he set out a more radical agenda to change Britain than many were expecting.

Yes, Levelling Up as a concept has been tried before, but Burnham is a man whose success may be wedded nearly entirely to this project.

As a result, we got big plans for a No10 for the north, devolution of employment welfare support, a ripping up of the whipping system, reform of business rates, promoting British firms for procurement contracts, ownership of more utilities, and the biggest council house building programme since the end of the Cold War.

How he can distance himself from the 2024 manifesto without the need to call a general election soon remains to be seen.

Yet, the sentiment of who and what he stands for was evident.

With the backdrop of the People’s Museum of Manchester, the PM-in-waiting gave a nod to Labour’s values and trade union links, with even a joke or two about his jacket, which is hanging upstairs, alongside Michael Foot’s ‘donkey’ jacket of 1981 Cenotaph fame.

A somewhat ironic place for him to set out a vision of the future, with a venue to remember the relics of the past.

For many, today was the first time since 2015 that people outside of Greater Manchester had been given the chance to hear about what Burnham stands for.

And he did a solid job at ensuring that one of Sir Keir Starmer’s biggest criticisms - that no one knew what he stood for - was clear from the word go.

Power into the hands of communities, more public control over basic utilities, and a Westminster that works for ordinary people.

Promises politicians have made before, and probably will again, but delivered with a dollop of Northern grit, snazzy glasses and some extremely long eyelashes.

The disdain for Westminster gossip was made evident with a somewhat unfair jibe at the BBC’s Chris Mason, for speculation about who might be his Chancellor.

Any politician who desires the keys to 10 Downing Street shouldn’t be afraid of a little scrutiny, not least as he appears to be about to face a coronation, rather than a real contest.

We hope this allergy to questions doesn’t continue for much longer; especially as it’s that transparency and openness which will boost democratic accountability and restore public trust that Burnham so desires.

Today’s speech gave us some answers, but leaves us with far more questions.

How will this devolution revolution, and rewiring of the state, be done?

What does Burnham think of tax and spend?

How will he fix the welfare millstone around Britain’s neck?

To top it off, who exactly will be running the slimmed-down Treasury in a Burnham premiership?

The Miliband vs Mahmood vs Streeting briefing war continues.

We still don’t know the bulk of that important detail, and won’t until he enters No10.

But what Burnham lacked in detail, he made up for in vision, sound bites and optimism.

A dozen MPs and political figures turned out to watch the King of the North address his subjects - and delightfully lapped it up.

Now, he just has to turn that vision into a reality.

He’s got just three weeks to figure out how.

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Natasha Clark is LBC's Political Editor.

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