Andy Burnham handed bleak policy prediction as popularity plummets in staggering poll: 'Dreadful!'

Andy Burnham has been handed a bleak prediction for his proposed policies, should he become the next Prime Minister.

Speaking to GB News, journalist Rory Hanrahan highlighted that the Makerfield MP avoided speaking to the media on Monday as his "policies will be dreadful".

The controversy over the media snub comes as new polling revealed that Mr Burnham's popularity has plummeted since the resignation of Sir Keir Starmer.

According to a YouGov poll, the Downing Street hopeful's popularity dropped to -11, a seven percentage point decrease recorded after his Makerfield by-election victory.

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Mr Burnham could become Prime Minister as soon as July 20 if nobody chooses to stand against him in the Labour leadership contest.

Discussing Mr Burnham's dwindling popularity, Mr Hanrahan suggested that Britons are beginning to "remember" his previous stint in Westminster.

He told GB News: "I suppose we're all deeply shocked at Andy Burnham - I'm sorry, our Andy, the King of the North, King Arthur returned, has lost 20 points in popularity before he's even opened his mouth and answered the question. It's a shock, isn't it?

"And we look at a record of complete non-entity. He couldn't beat Miliband in election campaign that was handed to him and he couldn't beat Jeremy Corbyn, an election campaign that was literally handed to him."

Mr Hanrahan criticised Mr Burnham's track record, particularly on Manchester's transport network.

He said: "His buses cost something like a billion quid I believe it's looking like, and they're twice the cost of a bus in London.

"And that's his full success, that he's managed to get somebody else to run a bus service for him and spend an awful lot of our money. It's not exactly a great track record, is it?"

The journalist predicted that Mr Burnham's suffering popularity in the polls could be a result of Britons "remembering him from the last time around" when he served in the Labour Government.

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He told GB News: "Some of us might actually remember him from the last time round, and it wasn't exactly the most sterling performance. The nickname Bambi is not exactly one to endure you with the image of strength in hard times, is it?

"So I suspect it's a combination of people remembering him. He'd been a little bit forgotten and people are getting to know just a little bit more about him, which is unavoidable when you become a sort of a national figure.

"Which is why he's very carefully avoiding answering any questions to anyone, because his policies will be dreadful."

Mr Hanrahan argued that Mr Burnham is avoiding media scrutiny as his policies are comparable with ex-Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.

He said: "He's refusing to answer questions because the policies he has essentially were tried by Macmillan 60 years ago.

"We had a previous Labour Prime Minister try these things, nationalisation, regional development. That particular Prime Minister, although a disaster, was an intellectual powerhouse, an incredibly brave and patriotic man and cared about the country, his economic policies were just mad."

Asked by host Tom Harwood on whether Mr Burnham is attempting to "present a new form of politics", Mr Hanrahan concluded: "It's like your dad turned up in these trainers and black T-shirt to pick you up from the pub at 55 years of age. Put a jacket on, put a shirt and tie on.

"It's the 'I'm forever 28 and I'm one of the cool kids'. There's nothing less cool than a middle-aged white man trying to be cool."

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