Oh dear. The Labour leadership speculation is back in full effect, thanks to Paul Waugh’s scoop in the Standard. According to Paul, Andy Burnham is “prepared to throw his hat into the ring” to succeed Gordon Brown, should it all go wrong for Labour in the next election. Apparently, he’s even lined up Tessa Jowell as his campaign manager – although, naturally, the Health Minister is downplaying the claims.
One thing’s for sure: this story is badly timed for Labour – with their recent progress in the polls – and Brown could well do without another bout of leadership wrangling to undermine his premiership.
But what about Burnham – has he got what he takes to become Labour leader? Myself, I suspect he’d be too much of a neither-here-nor-there candidate for the Labour faithful. His Blairite roots (he was expected to jump ship when James Purnell resigned back in June) will put off the increasingly dominant left-wing of the party.
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