Andy Burnham is the Shadow Secretary of State for Health and was previously a Special Adviser on Culture, Media and Sport. Andy is a big fan of Everton FC – although Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has contributed to his campaign fund.Andy is being support by Nick Smart:
I think it's fair to say that at the start of this campaign, Andy was written off as something of an outsider with little prospect of becoming the next Labour leader. Yet within the space of 3 months, this situation has been turned on its head, and he's now a serious contender for the job. Why? Because as people up and down the country have had an opportunity to meet Andy and listen to his message, they've all come away with a shared realisation - he understands what people's lives are like, and he's 'one of us'.Do you agree with Nick? Does Andy have the profile and personality to lead the Labour Party? Will his Northern heritage appeal to Middle England? And how serious are his socialist credentials? Let us know what you think below.
Unlike other candidates, Andy wasn't born into politics, and it's through his own personal experiences that he has first-hand knowledge of how difficult it can be for kids without connections to get on in life. It’s because of this that Andy is pushing for policies such as making it compulsory for organisations to advertise work placements and internships, as well as fighting for every child’s right to go to university or into vocational training.
On a wider scale, Andy wants to help regular people who play by the rules but feel let-down by Labour in recent years. His manifesto, ‘Aspirational Socialism’, sets out his plans for levelling the playing field through policies such as scrapping stamp duty, creating a National Care Service, and the introduction of a National Credit Union administered through the Post Office network. I would encourage everybody with a vote to take a look at this manifesto before casting their ballot.
Throughout the campaign, I've had the opportunity to meet other people who are backing Andy, and it's increasingly clear that he's drawing support from across all sides of the Labour Party. He's very much a unity candidate and I believe he has the necessary attributes to take the party forward and win back the 5 million disaffected voters we've lost since 1997. In Andy's own words, he's neither New Labour nor Old Labour, but True Labour.
4 comments:
I do not understand why Burnham persists with speaking to the S*n. Doesn't he realise what Liverpool thinks of that rag?
Scouse Mouse - as a Liverpool fan I completely agree, but unfortunately I don't think it's practically possible. It's fairly easy for players, ex-players and managers to boycott the S*n, but it would be pretty hard for someone who wants to be Prime Minister to boycott it.
Andy is 100% my second preference, I don't think he's quite got the whole package, including worldwide experience/appeal like David - but he is definitely a major credit to the Labour Party.
He speaks from the heart of Labour and will always have massive respect from me.
Scouse mouse and Dan:
I understand what you're saying, but look at it objectively a second...
To dislike the paper is a perfectly acceptable thing to do for what it did - but in boycotting the paper, any politician is, in effect, punishing any readers and, by proxy, their own chances of getting noticed.
Like it or not, it is still a popular paper and Andy would be doing a great disservice to himself if he didn't take up the opportunity - his working-class, no nonsense approach appeals *exactly* to the type of people who read it.
I'm backing Andy for these reasons, but then I've had the fortune to go along to CLP meetings and read all of his material.
The more people who get to see there is an alternative to the Milibands, the better IMO, whether you choose to vote for him or not - and, sadly, this involves some element of media interaction.
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