Our new leader must be himself, with no filter – or we face oblivion
Andy Burnham being sworn in as an MP, 22 June 2026 (House of Commons / Alamy)
4 min read
I am not going to try to tell Andy Burnham what policies he must pursue from one week to the next in order to have my support.
But I will tell him he needs to be himself. And he needs to have some bottle. Political leadership is now about nerve. Can you stand in front of people, empty what’s in your head, unfiltered, and live with the consequences? A political leader must show they have a strength of character that can bulldoze through every obstacle in the way of delivering what they want. This is what now counts as authenticity.
Labour politicians are frankly crap at it, but it’s time we tried, or we face oblivion. For the people who stopped believing politicians decades ago, seeing a leader make a decision in front of them, from the gut, in their own words, is believing.
Westminster will call it reckless. But we have had years of caution dressed up as leadership and look where it’s got us
The truth is that to do this as a Labour MP is near impossible. To risk the hysterical reaction of a progressive, liberal media, or of one or more of the political and equality wings of the party, is folly. But the effect has been that we talk more like we are in a seminar than standing at a bus stop. It has left our working-class base feeling talked about, not talked to, and they have rightly moved away from us.
The right worked this out long ago. Donald Trump has the capacity to dictate the news agenda every day. He starts the day with a controversy that consumes us all. Who remembers whether it was ever even true? He just never goes quiet.
I have followed Mexican politics closely for years, and there is a better example still, from the left’s own tradition. In 2018, Andrés Manuel López Obrador won the presidency with 53 per cent of the vote in a field of four – a margin of about 30 points. He won the largest mandate of any president in decades, and the first ever for the left since the country became a democracy.
His approach was direct. His almost daily 7am mañanera TV addresses and questions from the media could run two or three hours, with any reporters who turned up. He would announce policy, react to events and direct ministers from the podium. There was no place for advisers or comms, but a direct line to the 10 million who tuned in each day.
His approval stayed above 60 per cent for six years, and he left office as popular (or more) as when he began. A remarkable feat. His protégée and successor, Claudia Sheinbaum, then won the biggest share of the vote in the country’s history, and she has kept his methods and adapted them.
The Labour Party is banking on Andy Burnham to bring his common touch with the people of Manchester to the national stage. That will only work if Westminster’s professional handlers aren’t allowed to sanitise and filter his every word.
He already has the instinct for it. When he travelled down to London for his first day in Parliament last week, he put out videos from behind the scenes, soft media showing the man. It was excellent.
I have one request of Andy Burnham. Build an immediate rapport with the British people. Step out in front of your advisers and talk to the people directly every day. Get things wrong. Get things right. You have said you want to change Westminster’s “political system and its pervading culture”. So, be bold by refusing to be restrained or filtered by the people in it.
Get up early, set the agenda each day with what you believe needs doing and saying. Say it plainly. Your advisers’ job is to deal with any fallout afterwards, not stop you saying what’s on your mind.
Westminster will call it reckless. But we have had years of caution dressed up as leadership and look where it’s got us. A Labour government needs a leader people can hear. The next prime minister can survive saying too much. He can’t survive having nothing of interest to say to the country. Let the public judge the man, not the script.
Dan Carden is Labour MP for Liverpool Walton
