In two weeks, Andy Burnham will likely be the new Labour leader. A few days later, he’s almost certain to walk through the Number 10 door as the new UK prime minister.
But since becoming an MP and leadership candidate two weeks ago, he has only given one media interview.
Kemi Badenoch, the conservative leader, accused the Makerfield MP of “running away from being asked questions.”
In short, Burnham’s team feel there is little upside to answering lots of questions at this time.
Andy Burnham is the only candidate, for now, to be the next prime minister, and many Labour MPs feel optimistic about his incoming administration.
Any mishaps or poor media appearances could prompt some MPs to think again about ushering him into Number 10 so quickly without any serious contest.
At his speech in Manchester on Monday, where Andy Burnham outlined his vision for devolution and a “Number 10 North”, he took no questions from the dozens of journalists in the room, a highly unusual move.
His team say they are fairly pleased with the coverage of the speech, and feel that allowing questions about cabinet appointments or other policy areas would have distracted from the content of his address.
There is also the pressure on Burnham’s diary. All being well, he plans to be running the country on July 20th, and his aides say his priority is on ensuring he gets off to a much better start than Keir Starmer’s administration.
Access talks with government, I’m told, are already at a very in-depth stage and are being led by Andy Burnham, his incoming chief of staff James Purnell and the former transport secretary and Makerfield campaign chief Louise Haigh MP.
Those talks, meetings with Labour MPs and other preparations are taking up almost all of his time.
There is time this weekend, though, for Andy Burnham to answer questions from the public on Reddit and Instagram.
Burnham’s aides say his engagement online is among the best-performing of any UK politician, and they are keen to continue that as he enters government.
But these platforms allow Burnham to choose which questions he wants to answer, allowing him to sidestep any awkward issues should he want to.
Filling the void left by Andy Burnham is a steady stream of briefings and quotes from “allies” and “friends” of Andy Burnham, usually ambitious MPs or former colleagues.
In truth, there are still fewer than a dozen people working closely on the plans for a Burnham government, and his press aides have become increasingly frustrated at what they see as wildly speculative stories.
For what it’s worth – I’m told by a close “friend” of Andy Burnham that it’s highly unlikely David Miliband will become Burnham’s foreign secretary, despite much reporting this week that he is in line for a return to frontline politics.
The downside to the lack of interviews means concerns are growing among some Labour MPs about the lack of scrutiny Andy Burnham is subjecting himself to.
If his new government has a difficult start, there is a very real risk MPs will start to turn against Burnham and their colleagues, frustrated at the way a coronation was favoured over a contest.
Andy Burnham’s team insist that if he does become prime minister, he will give frequent, traditional press interviews as well as engage with newer platforms. There has even been talk of regular televised press conferences from Downing Street.
Until we hear more from Andy Burnham, MPs, journalists and the public are all left guessing what sort of prime minister he might be and what he plans to do.
If it all goes wrong, the questions will only get harder.
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