‘He’s a natural’: Andy Burnham’s allies give his social media style a thumbs-up

Politics The Guardian By Alexandra Topping Political correspondent 22 May 2026 12:00 1 min read

Labour MPs and PR experts praise his refreshingly forthright approach that is a marked contrast to Keir Starmer UK politics live – latest updates Andy Burnham’s fingers must be aching. Between pitching to become the MP for Makerfield, continuing in his day job as the mayor of Greater Manchester and going for his regular runs, Keir Starmer’s would-be challenger has also found enough time to reply to dozens of posts on social media. Since it became clear that Burnham planned to stand as a candid

Labour MPs and PR experts praise his refreshingly forthright approach that is a marked contrast to Keir Starmer

UK politics live – latest updates

Andy Burnham’s fingers must be aching. Between pitching to become the MP for Makerfield, continuing in his day job as the mayor of Greater Manchester and going for his regular runs, Keir Starmer’s would-be challenger has also found enough time to reply to dozens of posts on social media.

Since it became clear that Burnham planned to stand as a candidate in the Makerfield byelection last Thursday, allies have delighted in his snarky retorts on X, pointing to posts that combine humour with a passive-aggressive thumbs-up emoji as proof he is a natural, and refreshingly forthright, communicator.

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