LONDON — The yellow double-decker buses of Greater Manchester are not just transport. They are a political statement. Andy Burnham put them there.
He took control of bus services from private operators, cut fares, made them run on time. Now that same man is about to walk through the black door at Number 10.
Five prime ministers in five years. That is the number. Keir Starmer won a landslide two years ago.
Now he is gone. Tearful resignation.
Labour MPs, ministers, party members all defected to Burnham’s camp. The trigger was a by-election. Burnham won it, and he won it big.
The man they call the “king of the north” proved he can pull votes. More than that, he proved he can push back Reform UK and Nigel Farage. The far right is rising.
Burnham stopped it in his own backyard. That matters.
Ordinary Britons are angry. They have been angry since the 2008 financial crisis. Policing got worse.
Jobs disappeared. Prices climbed.
The rich got policies written for them. People say the government is not on their side. Burnham says he is.
He challenges the London financial elite. He fights for the underdog. The homeless.
The victims of tragedies and scandals. He got them compensation.
He got them fair deals. His approach has a name. Manchesterism.
It means devolving power out of London. It means what he calls “business-friendly socialism.” It means the state taking control of essential services.
The buses proved it works. Now the question is whether Manchesterism can work for the whole country. The political arithmetic is straightforward.
Labour members backed Burnham because he wins elections. He has voter appeal. Starmer did not.
Not anymore. The scenes on the streets of Manchester tell a story.
People see Burnham as one of them. He is 56. He grew up in the north.
He talks about the downtrodden like he knows them. Maybe he does.
He has been mayor since 2017. He has been a constant presence through crises. The Grenfell Tower fire.
The Manchester Arena bombing. He pushed for compensation. He pushed for accountability.
London’s financial elite do not like him. That is the point.
He positions himself against them. He says the system is rigged. The record shows he is right.
Since 2008, the rich have secured policies in their favour. Everyone else got poorer policing, fewer jobs, higher prices.
Burnham’s victory gives Labour a way out. A way forward. The party was unsung and unpopular under Starmer.
Bereft of options. Now it has one. Burnham will be the sixth prime minister in five years.
The black door keeps spinning. Maybe this time it stops for a while.
The man-of-the-people label fits him. But labels are cheap. What matters is what he does next.
He has the mandate. He has the plan.
The yellow buses are a sunny symbol, but they are also a test. If he can run buses, can he run a country? The by-election proved he has voter appeal.
The defections proved he has party support. The resignation proved Starmer had nothing left. The arithmetic is simple.
Burnham demonstrated he has both the will and the way to push back the far right. That is why Labour members backed him.
That is why he is going to Downing Street.
