Image source, PA MediaConservative leader Kemi Badenoch has branded Andy Burnham a “people pleaser” and warned his plans for government are “airy fairy” ahead of him becoming prime minister on Monday.
Speaking in an interview for Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Badenoch accused Burnham of not being aware of “what the country’s priorities are”.
After being elected as Labour leader, Burnham gave a speech at the Trade Union Congress headquarters in London on Friday, saying he would deliver “significant change”.
Burnham will take over from Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister on Monday, following a reception with King Charles III.
During his speech on Friday, Burnham promised to deliver “the most significant change moment in our politics for 40 years”.
In doing so, he made five pledges to the public, including working with other parties in a “distinctively Labour” direction and transferring power from Westminster to local authorities.
But despite Burnham’s promises to end point-scoring in Westminster, Badenoch told the BBC: “I will score as many points as possible if it means the right thing for the country.
“What I’m not going to do is give Andy Burnham a blank cheque.”
“What the country needs right now is someone who can take tough decisions, who can face down the Labour MPs that don’t want to do anything difficult. And that is what worries me,” she added.
Badenoch emphasised that she likes Burnham, who she has met before, calling him a “nice guy” and a “people pleaser”.
She explained: “The job is not a popularity contest. It is making the lives of all of the people outside this building better. And he has not said what he’s going to do. It’s all airy-fairy stuff.'”
In a direct critique of Burnham’s first speech as Labour leader, Badenoch accused the former Manchester mayor of being “a man who was talking to the Labour Party, not to the country”.
“It was all Labour this, Labour that, their factions, their issues. I’m not sure that he is aware of what the country’s priorities are and if he’s become prime minister without that then I think he’s going being for a rude awakening, to use his own words,” she told the BBC.
Burnham, who returned to Parliament a month ago in a by-election, emerged as the sole leadership candidate after being backed by 379 Labour MPs, as well as all 11 trade unions affiliated to the party, earlier this week.
But ahead of his first address on Monday, the incoming prime minister has remained coy about who will be filling the top roles in his cabinet.
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