Andy Burnham has finally done it. He has articulated a complete political vision for running the United Kingdom — a vision so complete that it exists almost entirely in the realm of sentiment and metaphor.
‘Manchesterism’ is what he’s calling it, which is either a stroke of branding genius or proof that naming things is now harder than implementing them. The speech depicted ‘a different way of seeing and running the UK,’ according to those who attended, which is code for: he talked about values. He talked about the North. He talked about change. He did not, however, talk about money, or how any of this works.
Henry Zeffman’s summary was withering in its politeness: Burnham ‘offered a sense of what his time as prime minister would mean, but he did not lay out many details.’ Translation: the man showed up with vibes and a catchphrase. Even a rival ex-minister is waiting to hear an actual economics speech before deciding whether to challenge him, which tells you everything about the gap between the vision and the plan.
So what exactly is Manchesterism? Nobody knows. It’s a way of seeing. It’s different. It changes things. The detail will come later, presumably, or perhaps never, which at this point seems equally likely. Politicians have always been comfortable with ambiguity, but usually they at least pretend to have a spreadsheet somewhere. Burnham has decided the spreadsheet itself is a relic of the old thinking.
The real test will come when someone asks him to explain how it’s funded.