{"id":37609,"date":"2026-07-11T10:25:35","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T09:25:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/?p=37609"},"modified":"2026-07-11T11:37:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T10:37:49","slug":"in-the-court-of-king-andy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/in-the-court-of-king-andy\/","title":{"rendered":"In the court of king Andy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Andy<\/a>
Andy Burnham, now MP for Makerfield.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As we went to press, the Labour Party was in the midst of imposing a new prime minister on the people of the United Kingdom, following the resignation of Sir Keir Starmer. The latter will have served just two years in the post, becoming Labour\u2019s shortest-ever serving prime minister.<\/p>\n

It very much looks as if Labour MPs will elect one Andy Burnham to the post, him having won last month\u2019s Makerfield by-election, which was engineered to enable his return to Westminster. So who is going to be who in the court of king Andy? And what will that mean for public policy?<\/p>\n

God removes and sets up kings<\/h2>\n

The Bible says of Almighty God:
\nDan 2:21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:<\/b> (KJV)<\/p>\n

Given that, is Mr Burnham the solution to the mess our elites have made of the United Kingdom, or is he yet more of the judgment of Almighty God for our national sins? As it happens, the prophet Hosea says that God may stand aside and allow the elite to impose their favoured candidate rather than go to him for a God-fearing man:<\/p>\n

Hos 8:4 They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not:<\/b><\/p>\n

And that imposition of a godless man will be the judgment of God on our nation. It\u2019s the elites who impose both princes and policies, rulers and rules on the rest of us. But it\u2019s on the people that the judgment falls.<\/p>\n

God is looking for a God-fearing leader<\/h2>\n

That is why God is looking for a man who will be a true champion of the people. That man will need to proclaim Christ as King, which is no more than our Christian constitution demands. So he will need spiritual understanding. And when the backlash comes, which it will, he will need the power, the wisdom and the protection of the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

So is Andy Burnham that man? The short answer is \u2018No\u2019. Mr Burnham, when elected as Labour leader and Prime Minister, will have even less of a mandate than Keir Starmer. A mere 20% of the population voted Labour in July 2024. Just 55% of one constituency plumped for Mr Burnham, 24,927 voters. Makerfield: full results<\/b><\/a>. During his campaign, Mr Burnham failed to submit any concrete policy proposals for the people to mull over.<\/p>\n

The rules of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) say Labour Members of Parliament may nominate themselves or one other member of the PLP between 9th and 15th July 2026. Candidates would need the written support of 20% of the 403 PLP members to stand.<\/p>\n

A day after the ballot opened, the party bosses announced that 322 MPs were already supporting the so-called King of the North. That leaves eighty-one who aren\u2019t, which is the 20%, when you do parliamentary maths. But they would all have to support one candidate.<\/p>\n

That one candidate would not be elected, but would force the Andy to disclose his policies in a mini-manifesto. If there still remains only one candidate validly nominated on 15th July, the rules say a \u2018leadership special conference\u2019 would be held on 17th July.<\/p>\n

Possible other candidates<\/h2>\n

One possible rival candidate to Mr Burnham was Darren Jones MP, the chief secretary to the Prime Minister. However, he ruled himself out of a contest. That left Al Carns MP, if he could find 80 more colleagues not enamoured with Mr Burnham. The former armed forces minister resigned over what he saw as inadequate defence spending on 11th June. A couple of weeks ago he was calling for the former Manchester mayor to outline his \u2018vision\u2019 for Britain. \u2018I\u2019ve got to see the plan,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

But now, as the BBC reports<\/b><\/a>, Mr Carns met with Mr Burnham on Tuesday 7th and concluded the Makerfield MP would \u2018make the right decisions and move the country forward\u2019.<\/p>\n

He told Sky News a leadership contest was \u2018not the best use of Labour’s time\u2019 and in his view \u2018we need to get on board\u2019 with Burnham. Well, good for you, Al Carns, to be admitted to the mind of Andy, but is there any chance the rest of us might see \u2018the plan\u2019, if one actually exists?<\/p>\n

Addressing the problems<\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Illegal Migration by boat across the English Channel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

No-one yet knows how Andy Burnham will address the problems faced by the United Kingdom, or if he even views them as problems at all.<\/p>\n

He is just as wedded to multiculturalism as is Keir Starmer and all the godless elite, viewing the arrival of mainly Muslim young men on our shores as benign. Mr Burnham was one of those covering up the extent of the Muslim rape gangs scandal in his domain of Manchester.<\/p>\n

The majority of the public who believe British identity is disappearing as a result of diversity will be disappointed if they thought it was only two-tier Keir to blame. The Telegraph reports on <\/b><\/a> research \u2018by Dame Sara Khan, a former government adviser on extremism\u2019. Dame Sara \u2018found that 55 per cent of the population felt national identity was disappearing because of diversity rather than being strengthened by it. … An even larger majority \u2013 61 per cent \u2013 believed that the contract between government and its citizens was broken.\u2019<\/p>\n

government of the elite, by the elite, for the elite<\/h2>\n

People are beginning to see how much contempt the elite have for them. It stems, of course, from their lack of respect for the Lord. Remember what the Lord said:<\/p>\n

Luke 18:2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:<\/b><\/p>\n

That helps to explain why the elite view \u2018populism\u2019 as a problem. They neither fear God nor regard man. For them, government of the people, by the people, for the people, is replaced by government of the elite, by the elite, for the elite. And that sums up Andy Burnham.<\/p>\n

Contrary to all the \u2018King of the North\u2019 flannel, it now seems that<\/b><\/a> Manchester suffered the steepest fall in living standards in England during Mr Burnham\u2019s time as mayor.<\/p>\n

Also in Manchester, his pledge to end rough sleeping in the city through a scheme called \u2018A Bed Every Night\u2019 actually saw the number of rough sleepers across Greater Manchester almost doubling between 2022 and 2026<\/b><\/a>. We learn from this that he is a supporter of welfarism.<\/p>\n

The Welfare Bill<\/h2>\n

In the 2025\/26 financial year, the UK government\u2019s total welfare bill sat at approximately \u00a3333 billion, while income tax receipts generated around \u00a3331 billion.<\/p>\n

The welfare bill broke down as follows: Pensioner benefits were around \u00a3177.7bn, although the actual state pension was \u00a3146.1bn. The remaining \u00a333.6bn was benefit top-ups. Benefits to disabled people and a spectrum of real or imagined health conditions was \u00a377.1 billion, benefits for those of working age & their children (including Universal Credit) was \u00a3145 billion and housing benefits totalled \u00a337.3 billion.<\/p>\n

In 2024\/25 the National Audit Office reported the UK government spent \u00a34.53 billion on asylum support, resettlement and accommodation (\u00a32.1 billion of which was on hotels). The total of Home Office operational procedures for asylum, border, visa and passport functions was an estimated \u00a36.4 billion. Bridget Anderson<\/b><\/a>, Professor of Migration, Mobilities and Citizenship at the University of Bristol, who researched the figures, commented: \u2018The scale of spending is extraordinary and disproportionate, and the reasons reach far beyond asylum policy and asylum seekers.\u2019<\/p>\n

And now Bridget Phillipson<\/b><\/a>, His Majesty\u2019s Secretary of State for Education, has proposed the taxpayer should fund child care for those out of work. Yes, I know, but there is more to this than meets the eye. \u2018Childcare\u2019, and \u2018early years education\u2019 used to be what mothers did. But from what that Bridget said in her speech, parents are no longer good enough at it for the godless left.<\/p>\n

No money for defence<\/h2>\n

Of course income tax is only part of state income and welfare is only a proportion of expenditure. Total UK government income comes out at a colossal \u00a31,232bn. Total UK government spending, is more, approximately \u00a31,370 billion for the 2025\u201326 financial year. Debt interest alone is \u00a381.4 bn.<\/p>\n

On defence, the cause of the resignation of Mr Carns together with that of his boss, Secretary of State John Healey, the UK spent \u00a360.2 billion on defence in the 2024\/25 financial year, accounting for approximately 2.3% of the UK’s GDP. For 2025\/26 planned core military spending is set to rise to \u00a361.7 billion, still less than 2.5% of GDP, let alone the 3.5% promised by Keir Starmer. The latter would cost \u00a330bn a year. Messrs Healey and Carns demanded \u00a34.5bn extra this year. Chancellor Rachel Reeves came short with \u00a33.5bn per annum. The Telegraph reports a minister admitting<\/b><\/a> the Treasury has no idea how to find \u00a340bn more for defence,<\/p>\n

Politics Home says:<\/b><\/a>\u00a0\u2018for many Labour MPs the real struggle now concerns not who occupies No 10, but who controls economic policy from No 11. Concerns about the possibility of (Ed) Miliband becoming chancellor is a key concern among many of (Darren) Jones\u2019 former supporters. When Jones ruled out a leadership bid earlier this week, he said it was in part because he had received assurances from Burnham, particularly on economic policy.\u2019<\/p>\n

Once again, good for you Mr Jones, but when will the rest of us \u2018receive assurances\u2019?<\/p>\n

Government waste supports the elite<\/h2>\n

The Government may not be able to find money for defence, but there is plenty of money for a host of their pet ideological projects.<\/p>\n

On Net Zero, the UK government has committed up to \u00a321.7 billion over 25 years to support carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects. The overall cost to the taxpayer of Net Zero is colossal, but almost impossible to find out. Even David Turver at the Institute for Economic Affairs<\/b><\/a> finds \u2018The Cost of Net Zero\u2019 to be deliberately opaque.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, the UK government has just announced<\/b><\/a> a \u00a34.5 billion \u2018active travel investment plan\u2019 to build 5,000 new walking, wheeling, and cycling routes over the next five years. In England, funding will be primarily managed by Active Travel England, \u2018to help local authorities develop infrastructure and deliver cycle training\u2019. Active Travel England is a quango chaired by former racing cyclist Chris Boardman.<\/p>\n

Walking, wheeling and cycling obviously fit in with the godless left\u2019s war on the motorist, while Arts Council England disburses money to a host of woke, privileged, often antichristian and where possible anti-Jewish projects. The quango\u2019s annual income was \u00a3842.3 million in the 2024\/25 financial year. Central government splashed out \u00a3578 million while the National Lottery chipped in with \u00a3261.4 million. And that is just one quango out of over 600.<\/p>\n

The Taxpayers\u2019 Alliance<\/b><\/a> has calculated that in 2023-24, quangos accounted for \u00a3391 billion in public expenditure. Out of that, NHS England\u2019s budget is approximately \u00a3175 billion, while internal staff and administration cost another \u00a32 billion. Which leaves \u00a3216 billion providing a comfortable living for a host of non-NHS quangocrats whose faces also fit in the corridors of power.<\/p>\n

More jobs for the boys and girls<\/h2>\n

We should not expect Andy Burnham to take a putty knife, let alone an axe, to all this profligacy. Indeed, he says he wants to devolve government to the English regions. That will mean more power going, not to ordinary people, but to yet another layer of the political class.<\/p>\n

What else do we know? Mr Burnham now says he wants \u2019even closer ties\u2019<\/b><\/a> with the EU. He has \u2019apologised\u2019 for Keir Starmer\u2019s<\/b><\/a> \u2018actions on Israel\u2019. No, not for the antisemitic recognition of fictitious \u2018Palestine\u2019, but for Sir Keir\u2019s failure to impose further sanctions on Israel and consider trade bans. Andy Burnham should reflect on Balaam\u2019s prophecy on Israel:<\/p>\n

Numb 24:9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.<\/b><\/p>\n

Not content with inheritance tax, Andy Burnham is thought to be planning a capital gains tax raid on top. City AM reports<\/b><\/a> \u2018Families face a huge capital gains death tax under Burnham.\u2019 The Telegraph says<\/b><\/a> Business confidence has plunged to an 18-month low over fears Andy Burnham could launch a capital gains tax raid.<\/p>\n

The wrong way round<\/h2>\n

The problem is that the government have their priorities the wrong way round. Even a Government minister revealed this in an unguarded email exchange with Peter Mandelson<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n

It was Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden MP who let the cat out of the bag following the leak of private messages to Lord Mandelson. In the 2025 exchanges, Mr McFadden complained to \u2018Mandy\u2019 about the government’s approach. He said: \u2018Every meeting I have is \u201cwho can we tax in order to pay benefits to others\u201d? They’re asking the wrong questions.\u2019<\/p>\n

The right way round would be to seek the Lord for what they can legitimately raise in taxation, and then decide how it should be spent. But that demands humility, which is merely one among all the scriptural virtues for leadership they do not have:<\/p>\n

Exod 18:21 Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.<\/b><\/p>\n

The Court of King Andy<\/h2>\n

On economic policy, two hard-left individuals have the ear of Mr Burnham.<\/p>\n

City AM analyses<\/b><\/a> the impact of Miatta Fahnbulleh in the court of king Andy. We have reported<\/b><\/a> on this hard-left MP, chief executive of the Soros-funded New Economics Foundation and its training networks, before. Read our article above or watch our video:<\/p>\n