About this episode

The episode discusses the political landscape in Britain following the downfall of a Prime Minister and the implications of Andy Burnham's rise in the Labour party.

How did a Prime Minister who won one of the largest parliamentary majorities in British history find himself gone within two years — and what does his fate tell us about the limits of triangulation politics? Is Andy Burnham's victory a genuine realignment moment for British Labour, or is he inheriting a structurally broken state where no leader can succeed? With Reform UK on the march and the North-South divide wider than the gap between East and West Germany, can Burnham's vision of devolution, constitutional reform and a written constitution offer a way out — and what can Australian politics learn from Britain's decade of revolving-door prime ministers? Political scientist Pat Leslie joins Mark and Maria to make sense of the collapse of the Starmer government and the rise of Andy Burnham. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Topics covered

• British politics
• Labour party
• devolution
• constitutional reform
• political leadership
• North-South divide

Keywords

• British politics
• Andy Burnham
• Labour party
• political leadership
• devolution
• constitutional reform
• North-South divide
• Reform UK
• Starmer government
• triangulation politics

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• Race for the base · June 16, 2026 · 53 min

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