Will “Manchesterism” be the tonic Britain needs?

Andy Burham’s inaugural speech as Labour Leader was loud on rhetoric.  Strong on principles and emollient in his approach to the Labour party.  Ending factionalism was a key theme of the opening.  An appeal to come together was addressed fairly and squarely at the Labour movement.

“We win by being us” was one of the stronger position points.

His analysis that Neo Liberalism, as embodied by Thatcherism, was the root of all evil could perhaps be viewed as a sinecure to a Labour audience.  However, there is more to this than meets the eye.  This was not a speech refighting the battles of 35 years ago.  It was a speech directed squarely at the base vote Labour has lost to Reform.  A party led by a man who takes a very different view on Thatcher.

Reflecting on the UK’s issues with economic decline outside London and the south east, Burnham spoke of “giving power to the place where you live”.  While the intention to “make things better and more affordable” was clearly articulated.  It is less clear how this will actually be delivered.  Take the railways for example.  Those with long memories of British Rail pre-privatisation will realise it wasn’t just the sandwiches which were sub-par. Privatisation wasn’t purely ideological.  It was a conscious effort to drive up standards. Which was one of the reasons that the Blair Government nationalised the track; but not the operators.

As to what “more power to industrialise” will entail was also left hanging.  It has been this Labour Government which has put the kibosh such things as coal mines in Cumbria and new wells in the North Sea.  Does this hint at a change in direction?  Will there be more nationalisations such as that of the Scunthorpe steelworks?  Moreover, will Manchesterismmean a fast track for other developments from data centres to dams?  Only time will tell.

The problem with Burnham’s “Labourism” is the same one that dogged Labour governments of old.  Paying for it.  With the UK’s historic levels of national debt; it will be even trickier than it was for Wilson or Callaghan.  Worse, the markets and the IMF are already pondering“Manchersterism”.  Might it be a harbinger of 1970s style British economic chaos?

While it might be refreshing, especially to a Labour audience, to hear that Burnham is to play Polonius and be true to himself.  Shakespeare’s Hamlet is alas a renowned tragedy.  It is not a manual for a well-thought-out plan for government.  Britain’s economy is complex and many great minds have sought to reshape it to drive growth.  Few have succeeded without unintended consequences or upsetting vested interests.

Structural reforms may well trigger battles with the back-benches and the Lords.  In that scenario many in Westminster already anticipate the outcome.  An early General Election.

Barndoor Strategy

July 2026