This Government has become as unpredictable as HBO’s adaptation after it ran out of George RR Martin’s source material Daily Telegraph 10/07/26 link There are those who think it matters not that innumerable journalists, sub-editors and email authors have got into the habit of referring to Andy Burnham, our prime minister presumptive, as “The King of the North” . I have gone to great lengths, in this column and on X, to remind everyone that if they’re going to use pop culture references, they should do so with greater accuracy. In the first season of Game of Thrones , the character Robb Stark is given the title of King in the North by his followers. In, not “of”. I do not need reminding that this doesn’t really matter. We all know to whom the reference applies, after all. It’s a well-chosen nickname because, even though Burnham is notoriously reluctant to mention it in public, he is, in fact, from the North himself . My contention is that there is no point in adopting any cultura...
He could be honest with the public about the scale of the challenges facing Britain. He won’t be Daily Telegraph 05/07/26 Link Even some Labour supporters who wanted shot of the hapless Sir Keir Starmer, and have flocked to Andy Burnham, quietly express reservations about the difficulties ahead. Some winced when he refused to take questions from the media after his fatuous devolution speech last Monday. Others note that his promises – such as finding more money for defence without attacking Labour’s benefit-dependent clientele by imposing “crude” welfare cuts – will require some unpleasantness if they are to be kept. Mr Popularity might all too easily become Mr Unpopularity, as many recent prime ministers have shown. Few, including some in Labour, would be surprised if by Christmas he were just as unpopular as Sir Keir. There are many reasons. As Mendès France said, gouverner, c’est choisir : to govern is to choose. Can he take the choices required? As well as keeping his promise...