When Andy Burnham becomes the seventh Prime Minister in 10 years on July 20, which is looking more and more likely, he will arrive into office and to a very large in-tray. There’s Starmer’s £15billion defence black hole to fund – a parting gift from the PM he booted out of office – an out-of-control benefits bill; criminals released even earlier from prison because of Labour’s 2026 Sentencing Act; illegal immigration continuing with impunity; the need to deport Pakistani multiple child rapist, Shabir Ahmed; and a Puberty Blocking Trial starting in August. There is also the issue of how closely Burnham will stick to the 2024 Labour manifesto on which they were elected.

Burnham has said in one breath he will be keeping to Labour’s 2024 manifesto (to avoid the need for a general election) and in the other, he’s said he’s currently focusing on setting the policy and direction of his government. The two announcements are entirely incompatible. It must be one or the other. What we can already see is that Labour has replaced one weak leader with another. Labour is about to anoint as leader – without any scrutiny or test – a people-pleaser who will just seek to placate his backbenchers, cave in to his union paymasters and bend over backwards for his Manchester friends.

His ‘Number 10 North’ gimmick bears all the hallmarks of someone who’s obsessed with performative politics – it’s just sizzle over steak. Or as they’d say in Texas, Burnham’s all hat and no cattle. For the idea that the country’s problems will be solved by having a Number 10 franchise in Manchester is ludicrous. It merely reveals his appalling lack of financial acumen and that he’s a subsidy junkie who’s set to rinse the taxpayer.

And what of his new Ministerial team? Burnham’s weakness is storing up trouble here, too. Starmer was largely brought down because of his crony appointment of sleaze ridden Peter Mandelson. Burnham too is determined to give senior roles to convicted fraudster Louise Haigh and tax avoider Angela Rayner.

Weak as water Burnham also appears to have been promising jobs to a range of people to ensure none of them stand against him in a leadership contest and many appear to think they have the same job. Wes Streeting and Yvette Cooper both think they are in line to be Foreign Secretary and most recently David Miliband is being touted to get the job. And the cast list for Chancellor is endless – Ed Miliband, Wes Streeting, Pat McFaddon, Shabana Mahmood and Darren Jones have all been mentioned.

Even Rachel Reeves might now be in with a shout after Burnham met with female Labour MPs seeking a commitment from him 50% of appointments would be female. He should have told them it would be a government based on merit not Diversity, Equality and inclusion targets but People Pleaser Burnham would never do that.

He’s not even in the job and he’s proving not to be up to the job and he’s storing up trouble through indecision, weakness and a lack of principle.