Tory grandees poke fun at Andy Burnham over retiring remarks

One of Andy Burnham’s problems is his occasional pandering towards populism. In an interview with GQ magazine, the Labour leadership contender tries to talk up his credentials as an ordinary bloke and says he doesn’t intend to spend the rest of his life in politics, arguing there should be a limit on how long MPs should remain the Commons:

‘Not necessarily, no. I think modern politics is intense – it’s changed in my 14 years in parliament. I always felt I would give it my all for 20, 25 years. Never put a time limit on it but then maybe finish off my career by doing something different. If you’ve had a seat for 25 years, people should let some new thinking in.’

What motivated Burnham, who has served as an MP since 2001, to say this? It might be seen as an attack on his leadership rival Jeremy Corbyn, who entered Parliament in 1983 and has served over thirty years in the Commons.