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Burnham’s first days
Andy Burnham is set to become Britain’s 59th prime minister when he walks into No. 10, with the Cabinet Secretary, Antonia Romeo, offering good wishes on Monday.
Before that, on Friday, Burnham will accept the leadership of the Labour party, unopposed, at the headquarters of the Trades Union Congress, as his acceptance speech is still being worked on and aides say he is “holding the pen himself”.
The Spectator says Burnham will acknowledge Labour has been abandoned by many traditional supporters and will repeat what he told his team: “People didn’t move away from the party. The party left them.”
The BBC frames the handover as rushed, saying access talks have continued as Burnham and his team talk to the civil service about plans for government and early events “next week and beyond,” with the aim to “hit the ground running” in a blitz of appearances and announcements.
The BBC also reports Burnham said, as he became Labour leader, “I haven't made any decisions yet about who will be in that top team,” and later said he was “finalising those decisions.”
North Sea drilling fight
City AM says Burnham’s team is set to announce new drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea within days of taking office, including plans to approve drilling projects at the Jackdaw gas field and Rosebank oil field off the coast of Scotland and an expansion of “tie-backs”.
The outlet adds that Jackdaw and Rosebank projects remain in limbo after previous approvals were overturned by the court, and that public consultations were launched on both on Thursday, meaning Burnham’s government may not be able to formally approve the projects before consultations run their course.
City AM quotes Adura chief executive Neil McCulloch saying approving both sites would “unlock significant benefits” for the UK including boosting energy security for the winter months.
The Guardian reports that Greens are using Burnham’s stance on fossil fuels to argue he is weak on climate action, pointing to comments in which he said he had “something of an open mind” on further drilling for fossil fuels in the North Sea.
The Guardian also quotes Green leader Zack Polanski saying the UK was “at breaking point” due to high rents and water bills, the impact of extreme heat, and anger over Gaza.
Greens challenge and stakes
The Guardian says the Greens launched a pushback against Burnham, with Zack Polanski arguing Burnham is “too in hock to vested interests” to offer real change as the party plans a media blitz before Burnham replaces Starmer in Downing Street on Monday.
Polanski’s social media post on Thursday, as quoted by the Guardian, targets Burnham’s reported decision to install Shabana Mahmood rather than Ed Miliband as chancellor, saying it showed he was “subservient to the City of London”.
The Guardian says the Greens’ plan to highlight weaknesses for Burnham focuses on policy areas where they portray “semi-skimmed Andy” as offering only verbal support, including rent controls, wealth taxes, nationalisation of the water industry, and a proportional voting system.
In the same Guardian account, Polanski links the stakes to Gaza and climate, saying “The status quo is intolerable – and all the signs so far indicate that Andy Burnham will fail to challenge it,” and calling for “end oil and gas drilling in the North Sea for good.”
BBC coverage adds that Burnham is receiving national security briefings as the handover steps up, while the BBC notes the Institute for Government figure that there are 149 ministerial posts held by 122 people, underscoring the scale of the choices ahead.
