Andy Burnham’s ten-year journey to No10 is over but now the real battles begin – he has to deliver on promises

ANDY BURNHAM’S path to power has been an epic political odyssey. While other Prime Ministers enjoyed swifter triumphs, his ten-year journey to Downing Street has been plagued by setbacks, detours and outright failure. Andy Burnham’s ten-year journey to No 10 is over but now the real battles begin – he has to deliver on promises Burnham’s path to power has been an epic political odyssey Credit: Reuters Heavily defeated in two ­Labour leadership contests, he stubbornly refused to give up. Instead, he retreated 200 miles to Manchester, to build a power base and plot his route back to Westminster. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! He returned as King of the North to seize the crown in an almost bloodless coup just three weeks ago. And now? He’s spent the last week on holiday. After a decade of scheming, Burnham apparently needs a breather before tackling the little matter of running the country. He’ll need the rest. Because, like Odysseus, our new PM will soon discover that getting home is only half the battle. Homer’s hero had barely made it back to Ithaca before he was forced to take on a hall full of grasping suitors wooing his wife. Most read in The Sun PC Andrew Harper and his wife Lissie Credit: PA Labour’s decision to free thousands of offenders from prison early — including the killers of PC Andrew Harper — is Burnham’s first big test Credit: PA Burnham’s homecoming will be no less bruising. His own monsters are already waiting: a £3trillion mountain of debt, threadbare Armed Forces, a battalion of disgruntled Starmer loyalists and, lurking in the shadows, Labour’s hard left. Fasten your seatbelts. When Parliament returns next month it’ll be pure political box office. Already the problems are piling up for Andysseus. His biggest challenge is clear: to deliver on his promise to get things done and put “hope in every heart”. Feelgood vibes and instant giveaways, like the £2 cap on bus fares and 86p-a-week cut in energy bills, have given Labour a Burnham bounce and sent expectations sky high. But soon an impatient public will demand real change — and some already suspect he’ll end up like the rest of them: big on promises and short on delivery. Labour’s decision to free thousands of offenders from prison early — including the killers of PC Andrew Harper — is Burnham’s first big test. Kemi Badenoch is gearing up for her first Commons joust with the new PM by watching old videos of his performance at the despatch box Credit: Reuters Burnham must take the axe to the bloated £334billion welfare bill Credit: Alamy He raised hopes of an intervention when he “paused” the process. But anger went off the scale when he claimed he was powerless to halt their release, with 850,000 people signing a protest petition. Now he’s wisely decided to explore other options. Like Pandora’s box, the scheme has released future misery and mayhem, which may soon come back to haunt the PM. His proud boast of assembling the first Cabinet with more women than men will ring hollow if 9,000 domestic abusers walk free in the next three years. Burnham must resolve this brewing crisis before his next major test in just three weeks — taking on the Mino-Tory. Kemi Badenoch is gearing up for her first Commons joust with the new PM by watching old videos of his performance at the despatch box. Burnham’s at his best when delivering passionate arguments. But as a minister he lacked the razor-sharp wit and quickfire repartee of top parliamentary gladiators and is easily rattled when put on the spot. His top team will no doubt put him through his paces when he returns from his sunbed to prepare him for something he has so far avoided: full public scrutiny. The Conservative leader is bound to challenge him on the real-life Trojan horse: the small boats used by illegal migrants and criminals to enter Britain. Burnham has promised to be “relentless” in tackling the crisis. Feelgood vibes and instant giveaways, like the £2 cap on bus fares and 86p-a-week cut in energy bills, have given Labour a Burnham bounce and sent expectations sky high Credit: Getty Kemi Badenoch is bound to challenge him on the real-life Trojan horse: the small boats used by illegal migrants and criminals to enter Britain Credit: PA Yet 2,000 have made the perilous crossing since he became PM and he cannot allow things to drift as Keir Starmer did. But his real Achilles’ heel is the estimated £96billion in new spending pledges — to build more council houses, fix social care and beef up our Armed Forces. Where is the money coming from? Britain is £3trillion in debt. That’s £43,000 for every man, woman and child. But now there’s talk in Number 10 North and South about tampering with fiscal rules to allow more borrowing. Taxpayers already fork out £12million in interest charges every HOUR, twice what we spend on defence. The market gods will unleash their fury if Burnham dares to borrow more. His only real options are to break a manifesto pledge not to increase taxes, already at an 80-year high, or to take the axe to the bloated £334billion welfare bill. Burnham must use his clout to drive through the necessary cuts before his power ebbs away. He has undoubtedly brought a new air of optimism to government. But after years of economic mayhem and political upheaval, Britain still feels like a ship searching for its Ithaca. The past four Prime Ministers have promised that home is just beyond the horizon, only for another storm to blow them off course. Will Burnham’s voyage be as treacherous as The Odyssey, or will he steer us to calmer waters? We’ll soon discover whether he’s a hit or a myth. THE Prime Minister’s flagship plan to move power out of Westminster is being run by a civil ­servant . . . from London. Sam Lister, the new director general of No 10 North, spends four days a week in the ­Manchester office, clocking up an £800 weekly bill for hotel and rail fares as he commutes from the capital. And there was me thinking Burnham wanted to improve job opportunities for northerners. Killjoy council chiefs want to end the centuries-old tradition of ordering a pint while standing at the bar Credit: Getty KILLJOY council chiefs want to end the centuries-old tradition of ordering a pint while standing at the bar. They plan to call time on “vertical drinking” by imposing compulsory table service on busy pubs. But how do the clipboard-wielding party poopers plan to enforce the rule? Can we expect spot-checks from inspectors using protractors to check the angle at which we are seated? “Pardon me, sir, but you are leaning at 31 degrees, which is nearly upright. “I’m going to ask you to sit back in your chair or leave.” What happens if we slouch after feeling worse for wear after two pints? Or if we have a few too many and find ourselves horizontal? Well, here’s a message for those councils thinking of following the crackdown proposed by the City of Westminster: British pubs have survived the plague, the Blitz, a smoking ban and the pandemic. They’ve even survived the advent of karaoke and won’t be beaten by a bunch of meddling jobsworths. We’ll remain on our feet at the bar. And we won’t stand for this nonsense. Comment now