Yesterday I saw a tweet where somebody claimed that not a single person in Andy Burnham's cabinet had worked a day of their life outside government or the NGO sector, which is mostly funded by government.
I thought, "That can't be true!," and my instinct was right. If you add up the private sector experience embodied by the 27 top officials that Burnham has chosen to help lead the United Kingdom government, between them they must have at least 5-10 years working in jobs such as journalism (Burnham spent 3 years as a journalist), Labor union activism, or research for think tanks outside government.
So there's obviously a wealth of experience with how the economy works, how businesses survive and thrive, and the struggles of ordinary working people who can't rely on government to employ and pay them regardless of economic circumstances.
Just to compare the new UK cabinet against the cabinet of the United States, the majority of them founded extremely successful billion or hundred million dollar enterprises, something that is hugely correlated with leadership and ability. Success of that magnitude is not a fluke. pic.twitter.com/PKIfaCkNef
— Joe Armitage (@joe_armitage) July 21, 2026
So far, there is every indication that Burnham's government will be just as or even more liberal than Starmer's, and just as indifferent to the day-to-day concerns of ordinary Britons. Some wags are noting that his policies look a lot like Labour's from the 1980s, including industrial policies, left-leaning foreign policy (Ed Milliband is now the Foreign Minister), with a rush to Net Zero mixed in.
I am afraid Burnham will be just as toxic for Britain as Starmer was — maybe packaged better (like Carney in Canada replacing Trudeau) but in the end another failure.https://t.co/f0LDyp1o5e
— Connie McLou 🍀🇺🇸☘️ (@ConnieMcLou) July 21, 2026
Burnham was very much at the center of the grooming/rape gang scandal, helping cover up crimes over decades, and while he has been lauded for implementing the "Manchester model" that is so highly praised, he leaves the city with the highest debt level of any city in the UK.
Still, while the past is generally prologue, it's possible that Burnham will rise to the challenge in a way that Keir Starmer could not. A lot of us would have guessed that Starmer would fail, but I have to admit that at least I was stunned at how quickly and badly he went from top of the world to lower than dog poo. Perhaps Burnham will survive as Mark Carney has, implementing bad policies, but without the disastrous poll numbers to match.
Burnham back peddles his position on North Sea oil and gas within 24 hours
— Ross Kempsell (@RossKempsell) July 19, 2026
BBC reported all yday he would approve new licences
Today the FT briefed he won't
Burnham has blown the UK's chance at cheap and abundant energy
Unclear whether he will approve Jackdaw/Rosebank pic.twitter.com/wTsVBBIRm3
But looking at who he has chosen to lead his government, that seems unlikely. While I had some hope that the removal of Miliband from Energy was a good sign, Burnham put in a replacement who is just as bad, if not worse.
Andy Burnham’s new Energy Secretary called for Britain to hit net zero within 10 years rather than the current target of reaching net zero by 2050
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) July 21, 2026
🔗 https://t.co/DgJiqbQWZa pic.twitter.com/RJR30hhGaM
She comes from the Civil Service and NGO world, so of course she is nuttier than a fruitcake.
I do believe that it is important to have some people in any administration who have experience in government, not because government experience necessarily teaches you how the outside world works, but because it teaches you how screwed up government is and which levers are useful for achieving things.
Look at how Trump hit the ground running this term. His four years out of office, combined with his decades of business experience, gave him a fuller perspective on what needs to be done AND how to do it.
Burnham's cabinet is pure government and NGO, which means that everybody has a theoretical understanding of the outside world, and those theories are wholly divorced from reality.
Burnham says his VAT cut on energy bills is paid for by scrapping digital ID. Problem: digital ID was never funded. You can't save money that never existed. We've seen this trick before. PFI anyone? pic.twitter.com/A9SCPpRwYl
— BruceUnfiltered (@BruceUnfiltered) July 21, 2026
The United Kingdom is in crisis, and that's no exaggeration. The sourness of the mood is not due to some generalized sense that things could be better. It's driven by how screwed up everything is. The migrant crisis. The energy crisis. Economic stagnation. Two-tier policing.
🚨 NEW: Wes Streeting and Shabana Mahmood have apologised after they were caught on a hot mic joking about prisoners being released early pic.twitter.com/VaWJ8XGISg
— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) July 21, 2026
A low-grade civil war is on the horizon, and it's unlikely that Burnham can even see the problem, no less have an idea of how to fix it.
I hope I am wrong, if for no other reason than the next election is in August 2029.
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