The resignations from the heart of government this week will only deepen the anti-Westminster mood ahead of the Makerfield byelection. The departure of the defence secretary, John Healey, and his deputy illustrates that Sir Keir Starmer’s problem is not just his unpopularity. It is that his claim to competence is being challenged from the inside. When ministers resign saying that the government is too timid and its politics largely performative, they are not just criticising decisions. They are arguing for a different leader.
Step forward Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor and Labour candidate in the most consequential byelection for decades. Mr Burnham has not disguised his leadership ambitions if he wins the seat and enters parliament. His sales pitch is that he is Labour-but-not-this-Labour. He sells himself as a party insider who is outside Westminster; an experienced politician, but not one involved in the present governing mess. He styles himself as plausibly loyal but interestingly dissident.
