The World Cup has PROVED Britain is not broken but has Andy Burnham got the balls to capitalise on footie bounce?

OUR new unelected Prime Minister starts work tomorrow and you can’t help but wonder what his world would have looked like if England had won the World Cup the day before. The feelgood factor would have been off the dial! Our new unelected Prime Minister Andy Burnham starts work on Monday Credit: PA Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham embrace after beating Norway in the World Cup quarter-final Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Andy Burnham would have had a job for life! But it was not to be. The Member of Parliament for Makerfield begins his premiership that nobody asked for in a country still in the grip of a hangover. Exhausted from falling at the final hurdle in the World Cup. Business battered, high streets dying and the working class taxed blind in the two years since Keir Starmer won a landslide victory at the General Election. But in one way, this IS a great time for Burnham to become Prime Minister. Because the World Cup proved that Britain is not broken. Over these last few weeks, we have felt UNITED. Our differences were put aside. Our pride in our country was tangible. And even if that glorious rollercoaster of a World Cup ride ended in disappointment, there is no denying how good it felt to see this country pulling together again. Will Prime Minister Burnham encourage the national unity that was forged in the white heat of the World Cup? Or will he squander it in a desperate attempt to suck up to the Parliamentary Labour Party? Because the 379 Labour MPs who elected Andy Burnham do not give a toss about national unity. The hopelessly mediocre comrades just care about keeping their jobs. We should all wish Andy Burnham well — even if the only mandate he has is to fix the potholes in Makerfield. But he will do nothing but harm to this country if he is mindlessly partisan. If Andy’s only idea is tax, tax, and then tax some more, then he is doomed to fail — and he will deserve to fail. Pious soundbites about devolution and “fairness” are just not going to cut it. There is no bright future for this country without economic growth. The wealth it creates pays for everything, from the NHS to our support for Ukraine to our ballooning welfare bill. The Prime Minister we so desperately need — whatever party he or she comes from — has to care about the wealth creators AND the genuinely vulnerable people who need a helping hand from the state. The Government can’t go on treating the British taxpayer like a cashpoint machine. Forget about soaking the rich, comrades — the rich are long gone, taking their chances under the Iranian drones hitting Dubai rather than stick around for historic levels of taxation. The non-doms, the billionaires, the genuinely rich — Labour drove them all out and now only us ordinary working saps are left to tax. Fans united at Wembley Boxpark salute England’s goal against Argentina on Wednesday Credit: AFP Will Prime Minister Burnham encourage the national unity that was forged in the white heat of the World Cup? Credit: Getty Does Burnham get it? Because when he waffles about “wealth tax”, it looks like everything he knows about economics he learned by studying English Literature at Cambridge. I have met Andy Burnham and he is a nice enough bloke. But Andy is a vibes guy. He makes all the noises about Gaza and wealth tax to keep the comrades in their comfort zone. Does he have the intellect, the grit and the will to make the tough decisions that will pile high on his desk every day? If all he can do is feed us more of the clueless socialism that we had under Keir Starmer and his inexplicably smug-looking Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, then all Labour have changed is the accent of their leader. The Government just signed off on £153million aid for Pakistan — even though Pakistan refuses to take back rape gang leader Shabir Ahmed. Does Andy Burnham agree with giving our money to Pakistan, even if they will not take back their rapists? Does Burnham have the ability to make difficult decisions that are unpopular with his power base? He is the virtuoso of the meaningless soundbite. He talks as if poverty only exists up north. He yaks as if bleeding tax from working people — all those rich bastards driving white vans for a living! — promotes “fairness.” Outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer Credit: Alamy The inexplicably smug-looking Chancellor, Rachel Reeves Credit: Getty He blabs about unity but does nothing to promote it. And we need a Prime Minister for the entire nation — north and south, working families and welfare recipients, businesses big and small, as well as all the economic illiterates massed on the Labour back benches. The British people do not like unelected Prime Ministers. They tend to get chucked out at the first possible opportunity. It could be different for Burnham. This is ultimately a conservative — small c — country. But the right is so bitterly divided that, if Burnham called a general election before the mince pies are in the shops, he might even win it. Because Restore hate Reform. And Reform hate the Tories. And the Judean People’s Front hate the People’s Front of Judea. So I can easily imagine how Andy Burnham could turn out to be the anti-Gordon Brown. The unelected PM who actually has the bottle to call a snap general election and earn the mandate to govern that 379 Labour MPs can never give him. No general election, no leadership contest — but we should all wish our pretend PM well. Because unless the parties of the right start to show some common cause, then we could get stuck with him for years. But Burnham arrives in 10 Downing Street as the living embodiment of power without accountability. Andy presents himself as the grand master of communication, and yet there has never been a Prime Minister who seems less keen on scrutiny.It would be comical if it did not chill the blood. Difficult questions are SuperManc’s Kryptonite. Burnham made his major policy speech in Manchester on June 29, launching his bid for Labour leadership — Labour MPs could vote for anyone as long as it was Andy. But then he refused to take questions from journalists. This is not the mark of a man who is fit to be Prime Minister. Especially when he has not been elected. Especially when he has only been crowned. The House of Commons started its long summer break on Thursday — a few days before Andy Burnham moves into 10 Downing Street — and they will not meet again until the leaves are falling. After being anointed Labour leader on Friday, his set piece speech told us nothing. “I am ready!” he squeaked. “We win by being us!” It was a speech you make after winning a Bafta. Where’s the British beef, Andy? Because the only thing on your menu so far is made-in-Manchester waffle. Is this guy REALLY a national figure? Let alone an international statesman. Andy Burnham’s elevation to the top job is the most grotesque act of entitlement since Tony Blair (winner of three general elections) was replaced by Gordon Brown (winner of no general elections). Burnham sat down with Gary Lineker ahead of England’s World Cup semi-final against Argentina. But having a cosy chat with someone who sympathises with your views does not constitute scrutiny. Perhaps Burnham runs for cover at the first sign of awkward questions because what he is hiding is . . . nothing. Perhaps Burnham can’t stand awkward questions about poverty in the south of England because it does not fit with his Andy Capp tribute act. Perhaps Burnham will not sit down with the Sun’s Harry Cole or Kate Ferguson because they will ask him what he plans to do about economic growth. And our kid hasn’t got a clue. Perhaps Burnham can’t answer questions about aid to Pakistan, Nato, Donald Trump and our (very expensive) support for Ukraine because his answers would reveal that he is hopelessly, tragically and forever out of his depth. But we wish our new unelected, unscrutinised Prime Minister well. Even all of us effete southern softies. Even all the “rich bastards” who dare to have a mortgage. Even those of us who work for a living and have been taxed through the nose by socialists who don’t know how else to raise revenue. This World Cup has given us a glimpse of just how wonderful this country could be if it is united. Britain is far from broken, PM Burnham. It has been badly run. It has been poorly governed by careerist mediocrities. It has been betrayed, battered and bruised. And, yes, we are all feeling a bit bleary-eyed today. The hangover of the last two years, and the last few weeks, will have yet to lift by tomorrow morning when you walk down Downing Street and step into history. We have learned over the last few weeks that, if we are united, together we can move mountains. Is Andy Burnham the man we need to keep our country united? We have seen unelected, unwanted Prime Ministers who have not dared to face the voters. But even Liz Truss was not too gutless to face a few questions. Because I love my country, I wish our new Prime Minister well. But if there is only an empty void beyond the good vibes, then Burnham should have stayed in Manchester, boring everyone with his anecdotes about the Hacienda.