Has Burnham exploded on the launch pad?

Desmond Clifford

A saviour riding from the north, Andy Burnham reflects the populism of our age. Enough Labour MPs were sufficiently scared shitless by Farage that they were prepared to abandon their leader and the sentiment traditionally demanded by the party.

None of the party’s 400 MPs cut the mustard, so why Burnham?

The Prime Minister is a sort of inverse Farage: north not south; tee-shirts not retro suits; The Smiths not Rule Britannia; plain spoken, humorous and relatable; left not right; for the underdog not the hedge-funder; and seemingly prepared to grab inertia by the throat.

I was optimistic for Burnham. Is it too soon to be disillusioned? Devolution was his defining political pitch. Mark Drakeford was an early advocate. And, like anyone whose head isn’t stuck in a bucket, I could see Starmer driving progressive politics towards a brick wall.

Burnham has appointed a Welsh Secretary. First mistake. The post itself is an anachronism and Burnham missed a chance to reframe the relationship between the nations. The UK and Welsh Governments should deal directly, no intermediary is necessary or purposeful.

Stephen Kinnock’s early comments were unfortunate. He is not “entirely convinced” of the case for more powers for the Welsh Government and thinks “we have to be evidence-based”.

Sorry but you’re a government minister not a Roman Proconsul. It’s not the job of Welsh politics to bring petitions to his door. But as it happens, the Commission on Justice in Wales reported in 2019 and its recommendations are Welsh Labour Party policy, not to mention the Welsh Government and the Senedd.

Stephen also very lamely noted that policing works across the England-Wales border. Yes it does! It would carry on doing so if policing is devolved to the Welsh Government in the same way it is to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Manchester.

Devolving the Crown Estate could “potentially destabilise the system”. What system? The system where revenue accrued from Crown holdings in Wales is sent to HM Treasury rather than retained in Wales for investment?

Again, it’s already devolved in Scotland and Northern Ireland. How can withholding revenue from Welsh resources from Wales be the policy of a Labour Government?

I like Stephen Kinnock. We both worked in Brussels 25 years ago and I knew him a little. He was easy company, clever and open-minded. I imagine he still is.

The benign reading of his early remarks is that he was caught on the doorstep by a journalist and said what came first into his head. But I doubt that’s the case. He was more likely reading off a party crib sheet.

Vision

Burnham attracted criticism for not setting out a government vision in the way he would have done had he faced a leadership contest. His one “Big Idea” is devolution.

He has quickly created “No 10 North” in Manchester, a symbolic gesture so far but a positive one in my opinion. Is it really plausible that he will pursue a government agenda based on devolution which takes no account at all of the nations? Surely that would torpedo everything he says he stands for?

If Burnham’s idea of devolution is to treat Wales as an extension of English local government, his rocket will misfire. He needs someone well-informed in his circle who can map out for him a credible understanding of Wales and a politically viable approach to devolution.

If he’s informed by the same ignorance that informed Starmer, his mission in Wales will be doomed.

Respect

Let’s be clear-sighted about Welsh politics. A majority of voters have a meaningful sense of Wales as a country and as a political unit. This doesn’t mean they are all nationalists and still less supporters of separation.

It does mean that they recognise Wales as a nation, as a political unit, and want it respected as one. They will support parties who stand up for Wales and advocate the national interest. They will withdraw support from parties that don’t. That’s what happened at the Welsh Election in May and it’s likely what will happen at the next UK election (top tip: in autumn or next spring).

Welsh Labour is a mess. In both London and Cardiff, it has no coherent policy on Welsh devolution. Every MP and MS seems to have their own individual view.

The devolution of policing and justice has been Welsh Labour policy from Carwyn Jones onwards. Is it still party policy? If it’s not, when was it dropped? Where was the debate and policy process?

Likewise, Eluned Morgan as First Minister articulated clearly the Welsh Government’s ambition for devolution of the Crown Estate. Is that still Welsh Labour’s policy? Can we expect to see Labour leader Ken Skates pick up where Eluned left off and continue to press the case with the UK Government? Or is it no longer Welsh Labour policy? And if that’s the case, who decided that and when, and where is the record of that decision?

Transparent

If nothing else, Welsh Labour needs to get itself into shape as a transparent decision-making political party. If Labour’s against any further devolution of anything, it should come out and say so.

Some years back, in 2015, Stephen Kinnock had this to say to Scotland’s Daily Record, shortly after he was elected an MP, “I think that the UK will die as an entity within the next 20 years, as a maximum, unless we federalise.”

He added that we need “a full and authoritative constitutional convention” to consider all the questions.

He advocated Germany as a model which has worked well. As it happens, I agree with much of that and his suggestion seems really sensible.

Where did that Stephen Kinnock go? The most depressing aspect of our politics is the way clever people turn into speak-your-weight-automatons as soon they become ministers. Why is politics like this?

Look at Anas Sarwar, and weep! He was Scottish Labour’s best leader in decades. I admired his lonely call for Starmer to step down some months back. It felt like authentic disappointment for Scotland from Starmer’s performance (while Welsh Labour argued that Starmer was useless for Wales but should stay as PM – huh?).

So to see Sarwar give up Labour’s leadership in Scotland in return for a peerage and a middle ranking trade job in the UK Government is demeaning and depressing.

If Burnham is so great for Scotland, why isn’t Sarwar staying on and working with him to reap the political rewards?

Sneery contempt

The sneery contempt often shown by Whitehall/Westminster’s apparatchiks towards Wales is disgusting. I’ve seen loads of it over the years and it makes my blood boil. So many MPs were full of fight before they were elected and then turn into quivering, craven careerists once they’re there.

Perhaps it’s a mistake to hold people too firmly to early lines at this point. The PM, the Welsh Secretary and the FM all say they want dialogue and are open to exploring possibilities. If so, let them explore.

Let’s allow a little time to see if dialogue is real and whether it can amount to anything. Even as I scribble these clichés I feel confidence ebbing away.

New dawns – we’ve been here too many times before and there comes a time when you just have to stop being a dupe. Is it wrong to hope?

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