Time for the true Andy to step up

SOONER or later the real Andy Burnham will have to stand up.

For the past two weeks the self-styled King of the North has been turning on the charm in the Makerfield by-election, a proxy battle to become Prime Minister.

Sign up for The Jattvibe newsletter

Thank you!

Charm alone won’t get Andy Burnham to No10 Credit: Reuters

Sooner or later the wannabe PM must tell us what he actually stands for Credit: Getty

But smiles and blandishments are not enough to convince everyone he has a masterplan to put the country back on the road to prosperity.

He has spent the past week making uncosted Government commitments in working men’s clubs — before even becoming an MP.

In one visit, he announced a £350million package of tax cuts for pubs and small businesses — the biggest by-election pledge in history — without saying where the money would come from.

Yet we still know nothing about the route he would take the country in if he gets to No10.

THE SUN SAYS
Andrew’s cushy lifestyle shows Crown still has questions to answer over perks

THE SUN SAYS
If there’s no two-tier policing, why are ministers rushing to rewrite rules?

Andy Burnham promises “a different kind of politics” but fails to explain what that means.

By different, does he mean his trademark T-shirt and bomber jacket?He vows to stick to existing fiscal rules but is unable to say what they are.

He even refused to say why he would make a better PM than Keir Starmer.

Meanwhile, in Downing Street, the prospect of the Manchester mayor returning to Westminster has triggered a sudden urgency to deliver change.

The long-delayed defence investment plan will be rushed out, along with social media curbs for under-16s.

Sir Keir has now vowed to fight any leadership challenge, leaving the pretender with one choice:

To come clean about the direction he would take Britain in.

Two-tier too far

SIR Keir Starmer’s fierce denials that Britain operates a two-tier policing system are getting flimsier by the day.

In the wake of the Henry Nowak outrage, further evidence emerges to show that justice is not being applied equally.

Avon and Somerset Police is offering “enhanced support” to ethnic minority offenders to help them get off the hook via a system of deferred prosecutions.

But why should the colour of your skin have any bearing on whether or not you escape having a criminal record?

One of the principles of British justice is that all are equal in the eyes of the law.

Police forces who were once branded institutionally racist are now infected by an equally dangerous woke ideology.

Henry’s inhumane treatment has shown the race pendulum has swung too far.

It’s time for fair-minded, commonsense policing that treats everyone the same