Britain's (almost) Prime Minister.

It’s a short one this week, as I have been writing for some external publications (more to come) and working on book stuff (hopefully news to come soon). But I didn’t want to leave you lovely substackers with nothing.

Thanks again for all your support. I’ll be over on Ahmed Baba’s channel for our weekly show of ‘Across the Pond’ tomorrow for a very special episode about the rise and spread of Christian Nationalism with a very special guest.

In the meantime, don’t forget to follow me on instagram where I post most regularly; https://www.instagram.com/jamesmatthewsonofficial

It was 11:33am yesterday morning at the People’s History Museum in Manchester, England.

The central hall of this venue was packed with people from politicians to press. The door on the left side of the hall was open, which was the perfect symbolism for the situation which had drawn the eyes of the world to this unique location.

As Andy Burnham, the newly-elected Labour MP for Makerfield and the former Mayor of Greater Manchester strode through the door, applause spread as the heads turned. I had never seen so many Labour Party members smiling in the same room, after all they haven’t had much to smile about in recent times.

Burnham made his way up to the stage wearing his trademark dark t-shirt and black blazer combination, with his Manchester bee badge on his lapel and his stylish black-rimmed glasses. He looked happy, energised and at-ease. It’s rare to see a politician on the brink of the biggest moment of their career not looking desperate or anxious, or anxiously desperate. Burnham carries himself with confidence and a relaxed manner that puts most people around him at ease but also helps to boost his presence and perceived charisma.

He’s among friends in this room and while the message is for many of them, it’s also focused on those at the back of the room - the press and the media. This was to be his first speech as would-be Prime Minister after winning the by-election that returned him to Parliament as an MP. The briefing to those invited was that this would be the start of his laying out of the vision he holds for high office.

Communicating with the press and media gathered there was clearly a priority, as well as with those not in the room, whose eyes and ears were transfixed on his words back in London, around the rest of the UK, throughout Europe and beyond.

This isn’t just a Labour MP talking, this is the next Prime Minister of the UK.

The road ahead is now clear for Burnham. Keir Starmer is going, he has set his timeline for departure, few are weeping for him, and now Burnham has the support of most Labour MPs in his endeavour to become party leader and thus, Prime Minister. Someone could in theory put themselves forward and trigger a full contest, delaying the inevitable by months, but no one wants to become a complete pariah and be loathed by their colleagues. I would also suggest it would be nigh impossible to find 80 other Labour Members of Parliament to support such an effort, which is the requirement to stand.

I listened to Burnham’s words over the zoom call I was connected to with the BBC whose political panel I had just been contributing to live on air as Burnham strode onto the stage. We had paused and producers informed me they would be covering the entirety of the speech and then coming back to us for comment after.

Because of this, the muted TV coverage I had on in the background was out of sync with the words I could hear coming over the call. But I could see Burnham, standing with confidence, joking during his speech, laughing and smiling - which can be a powerful thing in Politics, just ask Zohran Mamdani, the Mayor of New York City.

But I heard what everyone else heard when Andy Burnham announced his plans for a ‘Number 10 of the North’, basing himself part time as Prime Minister in the nation’s iconic and historic residence in London, but also for the first time in British history, in a new office in the North of England. His newly established Number 10 (the address where the PM lives in Downing Street, London) would signal clearly that he sees his premiership as not being focused on London and the beating heart of political power there, but in the regions of the country, the very same regions that have for a long time felt neglected by those in power.

He went on to explain that he plans to give more power away from ‘the centre’ of british politics and focus more on Devolution (read more about devolution here), allowing people to see more decisions made closer to home in their local communities. Burnham has seen the success of this model during his time as Manchester’s Mayor, one of the UK’s most powerful regional offices.

My take? This is excellent news… if it happens. I wouldn’t go as far to say that I’m sceptical about it, it’s just after many years of being burned by allowing myself to hope, as may other British progressives have, it’s hard to fully embrace something immediately when we are yet to see how it plays out.

But in principle, these are excellent ideas and exactly the sort of thinking I want to see from those in power. Burnham faces some other challenges still with immigration on the right and things like foreign policy (aka gaza and US relations) on the left. If he is able to lead with his principles and values and they are widely progressive, he will be able to solve those other challenges through policy-making. But for now, he seems confident, clear-headed and committed to change - that’s enough for me until he’s into Downing Street (in London AND in Manchester) and he has until the 20th July to sort out the rest of his plans for the Governance of the United Kingdom, easy right?

Thanks for reading

James