EUAN McCOLM: This Charming Man may suffer same fate as The Selfie Queen... and quickly find himself out of tune with the country

Published: 20:39, 30 June 2026 | Updated: 20:40, 30 June 2026 The last time a politician evoked The Smiths in a bid to score credibility points, the band’s guitarist was having none of it. Former Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron frequently mentioned his love for the legendary Manchester pop group, even selecting their early hit This Charming Man as a favourite when he appeared as a castaway on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs. But guitarist Johnny Marr – who formed the band with singer Morrissey in 1982 – did not approve one bit. After years of pro-Smiths remarks from Mr Cameron, Mr Marr posted a message to the then Prime Minister on social media in 2010, ordering him to cease and desist. ‘Stop saying that you like The Smiths,’ he wrote, ‘no you don’t. I forbid you to like it.’ There’s been no word yet from Mr Marr on the latest politician to have decided that talking about being a fan of The Smiths is an electoral asset. Prime Minister-in-waiting Andy Burnham has avoided much media scrutiny in his glide towards Downing Street. Instead of opening himself up to questions, he’s delivered speeches and posted a series of matey videos online. A clip posted on Monday opened with him singing a couplet from The Smiths’ B-side Is It Really So Strange? ‘I left the North again,’ he sang, ‘I travelled South again.’ I’ve no doubt the new MP for Makerfield is sincere in his love of The Smiths (and I commend his wisdom in stopping singing before the next line of that particular song in which the protagonist, in a catastrophic moment of confusion, kills a nun) but whenever he mentions them or any of his other geographically appropriate favourites – The Stone Roses, New Order, or Happy Mondays – I cringe so hard I could fold up like a deck chair. Andy Burnham has avoided much media scrutiny since becoming an MP It’s not just the try-hard factor that I find difficult, it’s the overwhelming mateyness of it all. Politics has always been, to a large degree, about storytelling; ambitious candidates don’t get far without a compelling tale to tell. But, so far, the man set to replace Sir Keir Starmer within weeks seems to have nothing but story. And the story is that he’s, you know, a pretty cool guy… When Mr Burnham announced his decision to stand down as Manchester mayor and seek re-election to Westminster, a decade-old joke re-emerged: A Blairite, a Brownite and a Corbynite walk into a bar. The barman says: ‘What are you having, Andy?’ Mr Burnham has not survived for 20 years at the top of politics without possessing certain chameleon-like qualities. Right now, we are invited by the MPs who engineered this remarkable slow-motion coup to believe the man who previously lost leadership contests to both Jeremy Corbyn and Ed Miliband is the answer to the problems of a United Kingdom that feels increasingly divided. Who knows, perhaps they are correct and Mr Burnham will re-energise the Labour Party and put the government back on track, but scepticism is a perfectly understandable and healthy response. Right now, it feels as if our national politics is being scripted by Russell T. Davies. As the economy flounders and the populist right rallies, Andy Burnham is the plain speaking, decent Northerner who’ll bring together this fractured family of nations, leading us all in a nauseatingly sentimental chorus of There Is A Light That Never Goes Out. Labour MPs, fearful for their seats, are projecting onto Mr Burnham any and all qualities they would wish him to possess. Speak to half a dozen different Labour politicians and you’ll hear five different versions of how he will change the country for the better and one of how he’ll be a disaster. Rattled by the number of seats lost in elections across the UK last month, Labour MPs need Mr Burnham to be the answer to their problems because they have nobody else. As a theoretical Prime Minister, Mr Burnham can do no wrong. Worried about the economy? Don’t be – Andy was Manchester mayor and Manchester has an economy! Fearful about crime? Well, Andy hates crime, too. And he said as much to Noel Gallagher, just last week. Concerned about standards in schools and hospitals? Just look at the way Andy’s magnificent eyebrows are furrowed and tell me you can’t see he feels your agony. Mr Burnham’s acolytes gather around their new 24-hour Labour Party person, clinging to the idea that he – uniquely among men (for it is only 2026 and we cannot yet expect Labour to consider a woman driver) – can provide the answer to their problems which, in most cases, involve the prospect of humiliating defeat at the next general election. The chances, however, of any bump he might provide to the Labour Party’s popularity being sustainable once he’s in office seem slender. Sir Keir Starmer’s unsuitability for the role of Prime Minister became apparent within weeks of him leading his party to a landslide victory in July 2024. His approach – unpopular decisions, clunkily announced – saw his popularity ratings plummet. Had Labour MP Josh Simons not – in an act of public self-abasement so great that it makes one giddy even to think of it – resigned his seat to create the by-election which allowed Mr Burnham to return to the House of Commons, Sir Keir’s colleagues would have found another way to get rid of him. And whoever was being lined up to replace him would be being hailed the answer to everything. But the problems facing the United Kingdom – and the Labour Party – are not, much as Mr Burnham’s exhaustingly performative admirers might wish, entirely down to the poor leadership of Sir Keir Starmer. The SNP overtook Labour to become the largest party in Scotland two decades ago, while Nigel Farage’s various parties – UKIP, Brexit and now, Reform – have been eroding Labour support in England and Wales for just as long. Johnny Marr famously rebuked David Cameron for claiming he was fan of The Smiths Labour began losing its way long before Sir Keir Starmer began driving the battle-bus towards a cliff edge. There are echoes at this moment of the weeks before Nicola Sturgeon took over from Alex Salmond as First Minister in 2014. A tired and divisive leader was on his way out and here, positively bursting with energy and ideas, was a successor for the moment. For a short while, Nicola Sturgeon was a blank canvas onto which Nationalists and Unionists alike projected their hopes for the leader she might be. But, in office, Ms Sturgeon was exposed as a policy lightweight, devoid of the imagination or drive necessary to reform public services and, instead, focused on identity politics and good vibes. We know how that played out: The Selfie Queen is Dead. With a rush and a push, Andy Burnham is about to become one of the most powerful men in the world thanks to a stitch-up by a handful of his Labour Party cronies. We are entitled, as our Prime Minister-to-be continues avoiding scrutiny, to ask whether the Burnham Project is any more than a hatful of hollow. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.