# Andy Burnham Tries to Lead the UK **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 20, 2026, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-burnham-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1031804 "2026-07-20T12:07:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2026, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-burnham-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1031804/101 "2026-09-02T08:05:44Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > Even my elderly uncle who did vote leave used to work in France and was quite happy for EU workers to come over to the UK. He couldn’t explain why he voted leave other than a sort of ‘Oh, I’m just sick of everyone going on about the EU’. God… if ever I needed that ‘Picard with head in his hands’ GIF meme. Bloody hell. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2026, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-burnham-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1031804/102 "2026-09-02T11:35:27Z")
He was 80 and starting to lose it a little… It wasn’t just the old and slightly bewildered though. One co-worker asked me the day before the vote if we were _in_ the EU and the vote was on leaving or _not_ in and the vote was on joining. Another voted leave because, although she had no issue with migration within the EU as it stood, she was vehemently against Turkey joining. A third voted leave because ‘I thought everyone else was, I feel really silly now’. This last was said in my hearing to our -Polish- shift lead. She had no idea why he got angry about it. It may be that my workmates were an unusually confused bunch, I won’t argue with that too much, but it didn’t fill me with any faith that leave voters in general were really thinking about the impact. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2026, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-burnham-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1031804/103 "2026-09-02T12:14:02Z")
One hell of a lot of voters want to vote for the winning side. They don’t know or care which side the merits, but they’ll try to find out who’s ahead in the polls or early returns then vote for that side. So they can feel good that they are part of the winning team. Even if they voted to screw themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2026, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-burnham-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1031804/104 "2026-09-02T12:23:28Z")
All of which shows that there’s an important second step for unpicking Brexit. Step 1: This was a bad idea. Step 2: The people who voted for this bad idea are in no way to blame. For quite a while after the referendum, it seemed like the new political divide was Remain/Leave - it was pretty damn tribal, and the atmosphere was not conducive to disinterested assessments of outcomes. Taking the temperature down on that, and making it so that criticism of Brexit -as-it-turned-out does not read as criticism of Leave voters is pretty vital to getting the political space to make changes. ---
**Author:** ![Mongoose3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3e96dc/32.png) [@Mongoose3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mongoose3)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2026, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-burnham-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1031804/105 "2026-09-02T13:51:18Z")
Hope this isn’t out of line, but thanks for the interesting discussion here. Can I ask where else you follow politics online? I’ve recently quit reddit, and am trying to find places I can keep in touch. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-burnham-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1031804/106 "2026-09-03T08:21:47Z")
This is the best place ! ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-burnham-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1031804/107 "2026-09-03T09:02:21Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > It may be that my workmates were an unusually confused bunch, I won’t argue with that too much, but it didn’t fill me with any faith that leave voters in general were really thinking about the impact. I think many people were confused. There wasn’t a clear argument for staying or going. My parents - who will vote on their death beds because that’s what Good Citizens Do - agreed to each vote for and against to cancel each other out, because they didn’t know what was right or wrong. This is why referendums on a single earth-shattering topic are a stupid idea. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-burnham-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1031804/108 "2026-09-03T09:17:39Z")
> [@Mongoose3](#): > > Can I ask where else you follow politics online? For me mainly Bluesky, where I follow a range of UK politics journalists (quite FT heavy as they’ve adopted the platform more or less wholesale), commentators and random interesting people. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-burnham-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1031804/109 "2026-09-03T09:20:06Z")
In UK politics news, Green leader Zach Polanski has announced that he will roll the dice and stand for election. (He’s currently a London Assembly member). This raises the stakes for both Green and Labour: Polanski would be embarrased not to at least come close, and will therefore campaign hard. Because the Greens will be campaigning hard, this will be a test of whether Labour can successfully meet the challenge on their left. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-burnham-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1031804/110 "2026-09-24T16:25:54Z")
> **[Burnham brands ban on football fans drinking alcohol in stands as...](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c933ky0nknxko)** > > The prime minister opposes the law - in place since 1985 - and believes there is a case to remove it. But football hooliganism in Britain goes back centuries. > **[Football hooliganism in the United Kingdom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_hooliganism_in_the_United_Kingdom)** > > Beginning in at least the 1960s, the United Kingdom gained a reputation worldwide for football hooliganism; the phenomenon was often dubbed the British or English Disease. However, since the 1980s and well into the 1990s, the UK government has led a wide-scale crackdown on football-related violence. While football hooliganism has been a growing concern\[opinion\] in some continental European countries in recent years, British football fans now tend to have a better reputation abro Football hoolig... There were some particularly strong riots in the 1980s such as the Birmingham vs. Leeds Riot in 1985 where a young boy died. As one of the control measures the government passed this ban on alcohol. So if you eliminate the alcohol ban you risk bringing back hooliganism. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-burnham-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1031804/111 "2026-09-24T16:57:56Z")
I dunno. As a former match steward- at a stadium that had both football and rubgy - I’m not sure that the alcohol ban helps all that much. At the moment there’s a mad rush for the bar at half time, and that’s not exactly an ideal situation either. I always found it very weird how many extra restrictions we had on football match days compared to the rugby ones, even though a big chunk of the crowd were actually the same people. I can see the argument that instead of a blanket ban, it’s something that could be banned if and when there’s an issue. Make it into a privilege that can be lost. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2026, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-burnham-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1031804/112 "2026-09-27T06:43:53Z")
My completely unscientific collation of football supporters’ views on this (comments on my team’s fan forum online, and the BBC article) suggest this is not very popular. There were some comments about hooliganism and aggressive knobs who can’t take their drink, but more around idiots chucking pints all over everyone else when their team scores (like those weirdos currently do when watching in fan parks during the World Cup etc), or having to constantly stand up to let people past because they’re going to the bar during the match. I tend to agree; not a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2026, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-burnham-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1031804/113 "2026-09-28T02:11:33Z")
> **[Andy Burnham to fight next election with plan for NHS-style care service](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/sep/27/andy-burnham-election-nhs-style-care-service-labour-conference)** > > PM says he is willing to expend political capital to bring in universal service for England funded by ‘everybody’ So why wait until the next election? I suppose because there isn’t money to do it now. But it’s not at all clear where the money will come from then. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-burnham-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1031804/114 "2026-09-29T06:57:34Z")
Hence one of the arguments for putting a costed plan to a general election. Any fule kno that somebody’s taxes will have to go up to pay for it, but principle is one thing, plan another (which we won’t have for quite some time - it’s not just a matter of waving a wand and hey presto), and implementation another again. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-burnham-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1031804/115 "2026-09-29T13:35:49Z")
The challenge of course is that with a general public who desperately wants to believe there’s a no-tax-increase way to get more services, the charlatans currently in opposition can always point to the incompetence of the charlatans currently in power for failing to deliver the impossible. Actual facts about the now-opposition’s plans would discredit that line of argument. And the numbers scare off their own voters as well as the other party’s swingable voters. In a democracy the government can only be a little more rational and logical than the electorate. Shame that. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-burnham-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1031804/116 "2026-09-29T18:27:09Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The challenge of course is that with a general public who desperately wants to believe there’s a no-tax-increase way to get more services, It is possible. Look at the current GOP budget, with huge cuts to social services, and increases elsewhere. Just reverse the process. For example, the _extra_ near $200 Billion allocated to ICE could easily be spent on better stuff. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-burnham-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1031804/117 "2026-09-30T11:20:44Z")
The UK doesn’t have that fiscal leeway, particularly not the US’s degree of tolerance for debt (and what happens to the rest of us when that particular chicken comes home to roost is yet another matter). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/andy-burnham-tries-to-lead-the-uk/1031804.md?page=5)