Andy Burnham offers Labour a refreshing new voice to reach lost voters – but with what message? | Rafael Behr

It will take more than blokeish affability to reach across the Brexit faultline that scars British politics Andy Burnham’s stint as health secretary in the final year of Gordon Brown’s government was not especially memorable, although one observation from a senior civil servant in the department at the time has stuck in my mind. Working for Burnham, I was told, felt like “revising for exams with a mate who might turn to you and say: ‘shall we sack this off for a bit and play football instead?’” It was meant as a compliment, mostly. The secretary of state didn’t defer government business for kickabouts on Whitehall, he just had the vibe of someone who was tempted. That image confirms everything Burnham’s Labour supporters and critics already think about him. Enthusiasts see serious purpose worn amiably. This, it is said, has been a winning combination in the Greater Manchester mayoralty. Transplanted to Downing Street, it might reconnect the government with audiences it has lost under Keir Starmer. Sceptics say Burnham’s congeniality comes with indecision; that the arc of his political career has been shaped by a preference for being liked over confronting hard cho