Andy Burnham wants everyone to like him – and that’s a serious problem for Britain.
asserted
that → want → Britain
He seems to think that if you give people what they want, they will eventually stop asking for more.
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they → seem → more
Unfortunately it doesn’t work like that, so Britain is paying the price for a prime minister who is more interested in being liked than making difficult decisions.
Take his intervention on slavery reparations this weekend.
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who → work → reparations
In 2006 Tony Blair expressed Britain’s deep sorrow and regret for our role in the transatlantic slave trade, and the following year he explicitly said sorry.
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he → express → trade
Nearly 20 years later, Commonwealth leaders are still demanding reparations.
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leaders → demand → reparations
Does Burnham seriously believe that another apology will somehow settle the matter?
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apology → believe → matter
Britain played a shameful part in that history, but we also led the world in ending the transatlantic slave trade.
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we → play → trade
Burnham says he won’t pay reparations, but this will be just the first of many requests.
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this → say → requests
Where does it end?
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it → end → ?
Andy Burnham wants everyone to like him – and that’s a serious problem for Britain, writes Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch
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Badenoch → want → Britain
The Commonwealth should be looking forward, not back for another opportunity to invoice the British taxpayer – we don’t have the money for this.
And to make matters worse, Burnham is doing the same thing at home too.
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Burnham → look → home
Yesterday, his Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced a humiliating climbdown on her plans to tighten indefinite leave to remain.
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Secretary → announce → leave
She wanted to make people wait longer before they could settle permanently in Britain and access benefits.
uncertain
they → want → benefits
A perfectly reasonable principle and one which we would have supported.
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we → support → which
But Angela Rayner and the Left flank of Labour backbenchers didn’t like it, so they are preparing to exempt care workers already here.
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they → like → workers
Mahmood’s own department says that permitting these 350,000 lower-paid care workers and dependants could cost British taxpayers £10 billion.
uncertain
permitting → say → billion
Apparently that is a price Burnham is willing to pay to buy his backbenchers more votes.
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Burnham → pay → votes
We have seen this all before when the same backbenchers demanded more on welfare, unsurprisingly as many of them have more welfare claimants in their constituencies than their majority.
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many → see → majority
Now the very same people are coming back for another helping on immigration where they see an opportunity to push the Government further to get what they want.
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they → come → what
Even the trade unions are prepared to stand their ground and fight for what they believe in, but Burnham appears incapable of putting up a fight against his own party.
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Burnham → stand → party
Kemi Badenoch: 'I am not supporting another slavery apology'
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I → support → apology
Burnham is worse than Keir Starmer, because he seems to have skipped the argument and gone straight to the surrender.
And where is he while all this is happening?
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this → seem → surrender
Flying off to Antigua, having dropped his Commonwealth apology bombshell, leaving his Home Secretary to explain her embarrassing climbdown to Parliament without the Prime Minister standing beside her.
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Minister → fly → her
Britain now has a giveaway Government, controlled by backbenchers who believe the answer to every problem is another concession, another promise or another cheque.
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answer → have → problem
We cannot afford it.
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We → afford → it
Welfare spending is spiralling, businesses are struggling under Labour’s taxes, and our national defence needs urgent funding.
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defence → spiral → funding
But instead of confronting these problems, Burnham is opening the door to more demands abroad while giving in to more demands at home.
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Burnham → confront → home
It is not time for a people-pleasing PM – he needs to get a grip and stop spending our money to make others happy while bankrupting Britain.
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others → please → Britain
That is why I am not supporting another slavery apology.
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I → support → apology
I know where this leads.
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this → know → ?
We are already taxed to the hilt, we already pay too much welfare.
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we → tax → welfare
The Aporia
