5:59 v originále: Andy Bounds on yet another change at 10 Downing Street

A scene that has been replayed for the sixth time in just ten years: the British Prime Minister steps outside Number 10 Downing Street and announces his or her resignation. The latest to do so was Keir Starmer last Monday. In the latest episode of the 5:59 podcast we analyze the move, its causes and its potential consequences .

One of the least popular prime ministers in modern British history is leaving office, following Labour's disastrous performance in the recent local elections. But there's another reason: a highly promising successor has emerged. The man, who is now expected to become Britain's next prime minister. The successful Mayor of Manchester from the Labour Party, Andy Burnham.

„(Keir Starmer) had a number of issues, but I think the main problem was he just didn't seem to be an effective leader to most people,“ says Andy Bounds from the Financial Times, in an interview for the 5:59 podcast.

Listen to the full interview with Andy Bounds in English:

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Burdened by low ratings and quickly diminishing support within his own Labour Party, Starmer decided to throw the towel in, opening a way for a new leader. The clear favorite to replace him is Andy Burnham who returned to Westminster as a member of parliament earlier this week after a nine year long break on the heels of a resounding victory in a recent by-election in Makerfield constituency in the North of England.

„He certainly does (have what it takes to be a Prime Minister). He's a very great communicator, a likable person (…) and he can point to a track record of improving Manchester, a once great industrial city which fell on hard times and is now revived as a tech and services hub,“ says Bounds, painting a vivid picture of a popular politician nicknamed the „King of the North“ .

The journalist acknowledges that the move from a local or regional politics to the national - and international - level will bring its own challenges but he is convinced Burnham „will keep broadly the same foreign policy - to try and keep good relations with the US as far as he can while rebuilding ties with the EU and being very supportive of Ukraine and tough on Russia“.

Bounds does not expect Keir Starmer to be a part of any Burnham-led cabinet as the two „were not very good friends even before this“. But he says he can see the outgoing Labour Party leader ending up in the House of Lords.

In the meantime, Burnham will have to fight off challenges to the ruling Labour Party from both sides of the political spectrum in the UK as the populist right-wing Reform UK led by Nigel Farage keeps dominating the surveys and the rejuvenated Green Party presents a viable left-wing alternative to Labour in some urban areas including London.

Does Andy Burnham have an answer to the growing popularity of the far right? And are the upheavals in British politics, to a large extent, the legacy of the Brexit referendum—held almost exactly ten years before Starmer's resignation? Find out by listening to the full 5:59 podcast in the audio player above.