My latest focus groups took place in Leeds, Halesowen and Solihull, where we heard from uncommitted voters about their views on the early weeks of Andy Burnham, and their hopes and hesitations about Labour’s main opponents.
Participants tended to have a favourable view of the prime minister, describing him as likeable, personable, relatable, down-to-earth and with more backbone than his predecessor: “I think he could sit around this table and have a conversation with us, but I don’t think Keir Starmer ever could;” “He’s got a bit of grit about him. I think he’ll challenge the right people. I don’t think he’ll kowtow to the Americans or the Israelis as quickly as Starmer did;” “He’s not a Sir. He seems like a real person;” “When the Stourbridge fires happened, he was straight up here. And that to me meant a lot;” “Silly things like that prank phone call from America. Starmer would have been like, technical blah blah, hiding behind stuff, but Burnham was like, yeah, it happens.”
Read more
