The Labour Party under Andy Burnham

johntea · 28 Jul 2026

Harpo said:
Great to hear the Government advocating a school curriculum that’s much closer to real life. I’d be delighted if there was a GCSE in construction.

Schools to offer technical subjects to pupils from age 14, Burnham says

The government wants pupils to take courses like AI and manufacturing which are linked to local jobs.

www.bbc.co.uk

Is this 'new' though? I say that because when I was Year 10-11 in high school around 2004 I was actually placed on a 'new' Manufacturing GCSE course! (for all intents and purposes it was just design and technology) and I ended up with my lowest GCSE of F or it might even have been G because some timetable genius thought I could cover the 4 day a week course in 2 days a week (I dropped foreign languages to swap to it which wasn't generally allowed back then)

I've always been a great advocate for apprenticeships if done well but every individual and career path is different, in my last place working in IT the local University would offer us an apprentice to work in the department for a year and a couple of them got very lucky as they turned out to do an excellent job and we just so happened to have some vacancies around the same time they would be looking for a full time job so ended up straight into their career because of their apprenticeship!

Myself I went onto a sort of IT training program after leaving college (I actually had a job interview whilst at college at my old high school IT department where I did work experience but wasn't successful only because the headteacher didn't like me enough!) - Zenos Academy if you want a interesting Google (long gone and this was prior to Pearson buying it) - it basically offered everyone a place no matter their IT knowledge or enthusiasm but if you were there on good intentions it was very useful as they basically trained you up and paid for various Microsoft qualifications and exams, they made bold promises you would be GUARANTEED a job at the end of it all but that was a bit of a red herring in the end

After all that Microsoft training and becoming qualified in Microsoft my first job was in an organization that used...Novell

No problems in the end, I just learnt as I went along (one benefit was they paid for me to go on several Novell courses...how unfourtunate I had to travel all the way to Coombe Lodge country manor in Bristol and stay for a week at a time whilst having to eat a 3 course meal every night...

) and they eventually sort of got forced to migrate to Microsoft anyway

RailUK Forums

Brightonboy · 28 Jul 2026

It has to be said that concerns over school leavers and youth unemployment is actually new...

The 1902 Education Act required local authorities to set up education committees to oversee education in their area. Those committees had to have on them councillors (inc current and immediate past mayor), local employers and representatives of workers - the intent was that local schools should meet the needs of local employment opportunities.

Fast forward to the 1950's and in a certain south coast town my grandfather, a long standing councillor and past chair of the local education committee, was part of a council debate about the high youth unemployment locally and the lack of essential skills of some school leavers and was advocating a compulsory special class for vocational training in the last school year.

brad465 · 29 Jul 2026

najaB said:
I don't know how well he would cope with moving further away but as well as the south east, a lot of tech jobs have moved to Scotland. As an example, we've just hired about ten cyber-security trained people to stand up a SOC (security operation centre).

Yes when looking for full-time work for the first time, one of my top recommendations is have high location flexibility (i.e. apply for any job of interest regardless of location).

While my first job ended up being reasonably close to my parents (though I still moved for commute convenience and independence), I had 6 other interviews in the 2 months leading up to the success that included going to Exeter, Bristol, Wallingford x2 and Derby, each one providing experience and feedback that made my success come far sooner than if I just stuck to looking locally. If one really can't bear to move, one could always turn down an offer in an unattractive location, but at least get the interview experience.

Yew · 14 Aug 2026

stuart81 said:
A lot of people I know are incredibly sceptical of Andy Burnham and how he was just shuffled into Number 10. We've not seen anything of any substance from him apart from a lot of PR spin.

To be fair, it has only been a few weeks, he has come in just before parliaments summer break. Despite that we have seen quite a few policy announcements already.

Snow1964 · 20 Aug 2026

The Government has today (20 Aug) published its legislative plans

Its long document covering lots of departments, but here is rail part of the transport section:

4.7 Transport

More local control over rail services and other transport schemes: The government has said that it intends to give local leaders more control over commuter rail services, with the most established mayors working in “much deeper partnership” with Great British Railways.[34] Ministers state that as new accountability arrangements are introduced, they will remove the need for government approval of locally funded transport schemes for places with integrated settlements, except those that interact with the national network. The government added that it would raise the approval threshold to £500mn and work with mayors to replace the concept of “retained schemes” with local transport infrastructure partnerships.

https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/governments-political-and-legislative-agenda/

Broucek · 21 Aug 2026

But less local control over building homes near transport hubs....

brad465 · 1 Sep 2026

Just like David Cameron, he took all the holiday pay over summer recess then resigned on the first day back:

Keir Starmer announces he is standing down as MP

The former prime minister said he would now turn his focus to international affairs.

www.bbc.co.uk

Sir Keir Starmer has announced he is to stand down as MP for Holborn and St Pancras, a move that will trigger a by-election in the London seat.

In a statement to the Camden New Journal newspaper, he said it had been a "huge honour and privilege" to represent the constituency for 11 years but he would now turn his focus to "international affairs".

Sir Keir stood down as prime minister earlier in the summer, with Andy Burnham replacing him.

It follows weeks of speculation about whether Sir Keir would remain as MP following his resignation.

In a BBC interview shortly after stepping down as PM, Sir Keir said he would stay as an MP until the next general election.

But in his statement released on Tuesday, Sir Keir said he was ready to "pass the baton to a successor".

He added: "I will now focus on other things and that will be international affairs including defence, security, trade and technology in a fast-changing world.

"I will also continue, as I have done for a long time now with others, to work on combating violence against women and girls; that is an issue that matters to me hugely.

"It's work I started before I became an MP and it's work I'm keen to continue after I'm an MP. So international affairs on the one hand, and continuing my work on violence against women and girls on the other."

D6130 · 1 Sep 2026

brad465 said:
Just like David Cameron, he took all the holiday pay over summer recess then resigned on the first day back:

Err....not quite. He's staying on until the next general election.

JamesT · 1 Sep 2026

D6130 said:
Err....not quite. He's staying on until the next general election.

The report says there will be a bye election, so not staying till the general election.

styles · 1 Sep 2026

brad465 said:
Just like David Cameron, he took all the holiday pay over summer recess then resigned on the first day back:

Keir Starmer announces he is standing down as MP

The former prime minister said he would now turn his focus to international affairs.

www.bbc.co.uk

Hardly surprising.

I think I'd probably do the same if I'm honest, as would many. Take some paid months off to get your affairs in order, then call it a day. It would be hurtful to go to work every day seeing the person who effectively stabbed you in the back leading your party in the chambers.

brad465 · 1 Sep 2026

JamesT said:
The report says there will be a bye election, so not staying till the general election.

I think they were being sarcastic.

D6130 · 1 Sep 2026

JamesT said:
The report says there will be a bye election, so not staying till the general election.

Yes, I see that now. The initial 'Breaking News' report on the BBC News website - which I'm unfortunately unable to quote from my phone - stated that he would stay on until the next general election....but it's subsequently been amended to state that there will be a by-election during the autumn. Perhaps he'll be seen more frequently in the Orange Tree in Kentish Town again now.

brad465 said:
I think they were being sarcastic.

I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say ironic.

jfollows · 1 Sep 2026

I’m not a fan of Gordon Brown, but he stuck around after losing the 2010 election as an MP. Cameron and Starmer are both diminished in my view by being elected to do a job as an MP but running away before the next election.

It seems the modern practice, but I’m not impressed by it. Theresa May stayed in the job; Boris Johnson ran away, so Starmer is in the Boris camp in my opinion.

EDIT Reported on June 24 (https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jun/24/keir-starmer-to-stay-labour-mp)

Keir Starmer will remain the MP for Holborn and St Pancras after standing down as prime minister, Downing Street has confirmed.

Starmer’s spokesperson said he was not expecting to take a role in Andy Burnham’s cabinet if offered one, though some MPs have suggested Burnham could make Starmer foreign secretary.

The spokesperson said Starmer would serve out the remainder of his term in the Commons and he was “going to remain” a Labour MP.

The old trope - you know that politicians are lying because their lips move.

Broucek · 1 Sep 2026

jfollows said:
I’m not a fan of Gordon Brown but he stuck around after losing the 2010 election as an MP. Cameron and Starmer are both diminished in my view by being elected to do a job as an MP but running away before the next election. It seems the modern practice but I’m not impressed by it. Theresa May stayed in the job; Boris Johnson ran away, so Starmer is in the Boris camp in my opinion.

I'd sooner buy a used car from Brown or May than the others....

styles · 1 Sep 2026

D6130 said:
Yes, I see that now. The initial 'Breaking News' report on the BBC News website - which I'm unfortunately unable to quote from my phone - stated that he would stay on until the next general election....but it's subsequently been amended to state that there will be a by-election during the autumn. Perhaps he'll be seen more frequently in the Orange Tree in Kentish Town again now.

I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say ironic.

It's quite annoying that the BBC does this with news articles - they add a tiny amount of detail then completely rewrite the article multiple times later, sometimes even rewriting the headline or changing the cover photo, rather than say adding corrections or running it as a short live story with updates before doing a proper write up once the detail is known.

brad465 · 1 Sep 2026

jfollows said:
I’m not a fan of Gordon Brown but he stuck around after losing the 2010 election as an MP. Cameron and Starmer are both diminished in my view by being elected to do a job as an MP but running away before the next election. It seems the modern practice but I’m not impressed by it. Theresa May stayed in the job; Boris Johnson ran away, so Starmer is in the Boris camp in my opinion.

Blair also stood down immediately after leaving No.10, though at least with him he'd been in the top job 10 years. Boris Johnson absolutely wanted to stay on in the hope he'd make a quick comeback, however the Privilege's Committee investigation all but ensured that would be impossible; he quit just before its publication.

43096 · 1 Sep 2026

jfollows said:
I’m not a fan of Gordon Brown but he stuck around after losing the 2010 election as an MP. Cameron and Starmer are both diminished in my view by being elected to do a job as an MP but running away before the next election. It seems the modern practice but I’m not impressed by it. Theresa May stayed in the job; Boris Johnson ran away, so Starmer is in the Boris camp in my opinion.

Would you stay in a job if you'd been stabbed in the back by a colleague, been demoted and then had to report into that person who took your job?

Acfb · 1 Sep 2026

I think it's about 50/50 whether the Greens gain Holborn and St Pancras (if you look at the combined Green + Ind vote from 2024) although that said I think they peaked in May 2026 and Labour seems now more resilient in Camden than say Hackney, Lewisham etc.

Depends who the candidate is though wouldn't be surprised if they tried to parachute someone in such as the candidate who lost to Corbyn last time.

Thirteen · 1 Sep 2026

Acfb said:
I think it's about 50/50 whether the Greens gain Holborn and St Pancras (if you look at the combined Green + Ind vote from 2024) although that said I think they peaked in May 2026 and Labour seems now more resilient in Camden than say Hackney, Lewisham etc.

Depends who the candidate is though wouldn't be surprised if they tried to parachute someone in such as the candidate who lost to Corbyn last time.

Depends who the Greens put as their candidate, I think Polanski was said to be targeting it although he also was mulling running as the Green candidate for the London Mayoral election.

WesternLancer · 1 Sep 2026

brad465 said:
Just like David Cameron, he took all the holiday pay over summer recess then resigned on the first day back:

Keir Starmer announces he is standing down as MP

The former prime minister said he would now turn his focus to international affairs.

www.bbc.co.uk

Do we know if he was on holiday? - MPs don't stop working when Parliament isn't sitting - they have plenty to do in their constituencies which has nothing to do with going to the House of Commons - assuming they turn their hand to it.

I think most jobs when you hand in your notice you might expect to get the leave you have accrued pro rata to take - and if you have taken more than you have accrued over the period of the year so far, you have to pay it back with deduction from your last pay cheque.

Oxfordblues · 1 Sep 2026

I saw Polanski give a passionate address to a huge crowd at the Shambala Festival and would love to see him as MP for Holborn & St Pancras (ie Camden)

Broucek · 1 Sep 2026

WesternLancer said:
I think most jobs when you hand in your notice you might expect to get the leave you have accrued pro rata to take - and if you have taken more than you have accrued over the period of the year so far, you have to pay it back with deduction from your last pay cheque.

Exactly. But terms and conditions for MPs are often non-standard

styles · 1 Sep 2026

WesternLancer said:
Do we know if he was on holiday? - MPs don't stop working when Parliament isn't sitting - they have plenty to do in their constituencies which has nothing to do with going to the House of Commons - assuming they turn their hand to it.

I think most jobs when you hand in your notice you might expect to get the leave you have accrued pro rata to take - and if you have taken more than you have accrued over the period of the year so far, you have to pay it back with deduction from your last pay cheque.

Indeed, most jobs allow you to resign without having to request to be given a separate paid position which then disqualifies you from the job you're trying to resign from either

They also don't tend to lead to a guaranteed £115,000 lifetime pension like the PM gets.

I'm all for reforming MP pay and benefits to be more like 'normal' jobs, but I think we'll have to accept some quirks. MPs being paid over the summer Parliamentary recess is perhaps one of them. And like you say, Parliamentary recess doesn't necessarily mean no work for MPs, many of whom use this time doing casework and such in their constituency.

najaB · 1 Sep 2026

styles said:
And like you say, Parliamentary recess doesn't necessarily mean no work for MPs, many of whom use this time doing casework and such in their constituency.

Even if they aren't working, all it means in effect is that they get more paid time off than the average worker. Which I guess is okay considering that MPs pay is lower than it would be in a private sector job with similar level of responsibility.

contrex · 2 Sep 2026

Oxfordblues said:
I saw Polanski give a passionate address to a huge crowd at the Shambala Festival and would love to see him as MP for Holborn & St Pancras (ie Camden)

Me too. I want to see Burnham take a much harder line taken with Israel over Gaza and the settlers in the West Bank. That is one of my policy non-negotiables, and why I left the Labour Party last year after 50 years. They keep sending 'we miss you' emails.

jfollows · 2 Sep 2026

styles said:
Indeed, most jobs allow you to resign without having to request to be given a separate paid position which then disqualifies you from the job you're trying to resign from either

I did have a former colleague who resigned from IBM several years after I did, whose manager initially told him he wouldn't "allow" him to resign. I think that's a reflection on the poor management training in these companies nowadays. Needless to say he laughed at his manager and told him to go away and read up on the proper process.

styles · 2 Sep 2026

jfollows said:
I did have a former colleague who resigned from IBM several years after I did, whose manager initially told him he wouldn't "allow" him to resign. I think that's a reflection on the poor management training in these companies nowadays. Needless to say he laughed at his manager and told him to go away and read up on the proper process.

The idea of literally enslaving employees is quite amusing though. Well, unless you're in the armed forces anyway.

Broucek · 2 Sep 2026

styles said:
Indeed, most jobs allow you to resign without having to request to be given a separate paid position which then disqualifies you from the job you're trying to resign from either

They also don't tend to lead to a guaranteed £115,000 lifetime pension like the PM gets.

I'm all for reforming MP pay and benefits to be more like 'normal' jobs, but I think we'll have to accept some quirks. MPs being paid over the summer Parliamentary recess is perhaps one of them. And like you say, Parliamentary recess doesn't necessarily mean no work for MPs, many of whom use this time doing casework and such in their constituency.

Most jobs with an annual salary pay monthly regardless of busy and quieter times. See also education!

ainsworth74 · Thursday at 11:05

I think we've somewhat wandered off topic here so I've moved the discussion about four weekly pay to a new thread which can be found here.

If we could get back to Andy Burnham and the Labour party here that would be grand

LNW-GW Joint · Sunday at 14:41

You may have noticed Louise Haigh (former Transport Secretary who tabled the TOC nationalisation Bill after the election) sitting at the right hand of Andy Burnham in the Commons since parliament has resumed.
She is said to be Andy's minder and enforcer of policy, as Minister for the Cabinet Office.
She will doubtless have a senior role in how the Railways Bill is progressed and enacted.

The Labour Party under Andy Burnham

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