British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's unpopular and faltering premiership was paving the way for far-right populism, with Britain on course to be taken over by a political party both aligned and associated with Donald Trump — part of the momentum of far-right threats occurring across Europe and elsewhere.
Yet with Andy Burnham's elevation to Prime Minister on a promised agenda to tackle the cost of living — and with scandals consuming the far right along with other political upheavals — that outcome now seems less certain. Despite this, big questions remain about how far Burnham's actions will meet his words, and whether he can bring Britain out of multiple crises.
Burnham was chosen without contest by the parliamentary Labour Party, becoming the country’s sixth PM in ten years. A decade ago Britain was predominantly a two-party system, with the exception of Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Reform, the far-right populists who have been topping most of the UK polls recently, are connected to the 2016 Brexit referendum and the side that successfully advocated for leaving the EU. Now, with the Conservatives largely collapsing, Labour is outflanked to its left — its traditional ground — as the Green Party has made a breakthrough.
At the same time, the Scottish National Party (SNP), who have for decades dominated Scotland, are now joined in the ascendency by Plaid Cymru, the centre-left party of Wales.
Starmer, who held the PM job for two years, failed to stand up to Reform with a strategy of mimicking their politics of racism and division, whilst offering the same pro-business neoliberal politics that have impoverished the 99%.
Burnham, by contrast, has promised a break from the politics of the last 40 years. In addition, the far-right party is being rocked by an escalating crisis of its own.
Reform's million-pound corruption scandals
Reform party leader Nigel Farage has been accused of breaking anti-corruption laws and rules, and currently stands accused of accepting a £5 million gift from Thai-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.
He also stands accused of receiving money — and not declaring it — from fraudster George Cottrell.
All this is contradicting his self-created image of standing against the establishment as a “man of the people.” Previously Farage had successfully sidestepped a litany of accusations, including racism and corruption.
In reaction, Farage has called an election for his seat in parliament. Yet all major parties say they will not compete, and instead want to compete in an election that could be forced after the results of the police investigations and parliament scrutiny.
Calling this election is turning Reform into a joke for many. The election, without major parties challenging this time, means Farage and Reform will have to compete against a plethora of joke contestants like “Count Binface” – a candidate with a trash-can on his head — which will likely only further damage Reform's image.
Even if these allegations do not get Farage or Reform sanctioned, potential damage to their reputations lessens Reform's chances at the next General Election in 2029. Yet now there is a more extremist far-right party that has splintered off from Reform and could take their mantle as the far-right threat.
Whatever happens, it's clear in British politics today that billionaires and the super rich are lining up to sponsor politicians who scapegoat people, distracting anger and attention away from the system the rich profit from. Burnham's premiership needs to make a real difference on these issues — both for the Labour Party's survival, and for Britain's sake.
Building a coalition against the far right
Starmer made big progressive pledges when he took over as Labour leader in 2020, four years before becoming PM. Yet there is a general consensus amongst most people that will remember the Starmer leadership for breaking almost all of these pledges and ruthlessly purging any left-wing opposition within his own party.
In many ways, Starmer appeared to exhaust so much energy attacking the left in his party that he had no one left to work out a vision to govern the country. For many, his government will be remembered for defining peaceful protesters against genocide in Palestine as terrorists; for attempting to means test financial support for elderly people with winter fuel payments (until a rebellion in his own party overturned this policy); and for his close relationship with Peter Mandelson, a politician whose close ties to the late sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein ultimately caused his leadership to collapse.
Burnham taking the helm both represents a break and at the same time shows continuity with Starmer. Unlike the previous administration, Burnham has vision. Tackling street homelessness, capping bus fares, decentralising Britain and addressing impoverishment are all measures he advanced in his first few days of the job.
Burnham will make politics less London-centric, such as creating an additional PM's HQ – a No 10 – in the North. Although Burnham has been in Parliament before, more recently he was a successful mayor of Manchester, and comes from outside the “Westminster bubble,” a term similar to the “Washington swamp.”
Burnham's rise to winning a seat in Parliament, then an uncontested coronation to PM, was due to his emphatic win against Reform. The Labour Party has calculated it needs this centre-left change — it needs an outsider from Westminster — in order to beat Farage and Reform.
In the coming weeks and months, the differences between Starmer and Burnham will become apparent. Burnham has shifted on issues that meant Labour were losing votes to leftwing alternatives and progressives.
For instance, he has suggested Britain needs to stop its unquestioning support for Israel, although there are no plans ahead to refuse arms sales to Israel. When it comes to the economy, Burnham has said Britain needs to break from the last 40 years of austerity and neoliberalism — yet at the same time has accepted the same fiscal rules on borrowing, whilst pledging to not raise taxes.
The sweeping change that Burnham’s rise to the top represents is the mentality that has dominated the Labour Party. Gone are the days when the main rationale was to replicate the Conservatives or Reform, but with a “lite” version. Burnham would not be Prime Minister if Labour were not haemorrhaging votes to Plaid Cymru in Wales, the Scottish National Party in Scotland, and Greens and independent politicians nationwide.
It is not that the entirety of Labour has suddenly discovered their old leftist values. Even if some of the big hitters within the party's right-wing have lost their high profile positions, they are still active in the party and across its establishment. Their influence will continue to steer Labour.
Yet what has changed is that the Labour Party as a whole realise they need to go back towards their traditional values and voter base. They need to stand up for the 99% against business, or the party will become irrelevant. Across Britain, there is a growing coalition emerging to challenge far-right populism with real alternatives. Labour need to get onboard or get out the way.
