Jenrick: ‘Burnham is Keir Starmer in a dodgy polo shirt’ – POLITICO

LONDON — Reform’s Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick describes the likely next Labour leader Andy Burnham as “continuity Keir Starmer” — but acknowledged that the newly elected MP for Makerfield will enjoy a honeymoon period if he ascends to No. 10 next month as expected.

“He’s basically Keir Starmer in a dodgy polo shirt, and he stands for exactly the same kind of politics,” Jenrick said Tuesday in an interview for a special episode of POLITICO’s Westminster Insider podcast. The Reform politician added: “It’s just vibes, isn’t it? It’s basically the same politics that has failed this country for more than just two years, for a very long time, dressed up in a slightly more human way.”

Jenrick, previously a Conservative leadership candidate who defected to Nigel Farage’s Reform earlier this year, said that the public might take a fresh look at Burnham in the wake of his victory in last week’s Makerfield election and Starmer’s resignation as prime minister earlier this week. But Jenrick argued that he would have as difficult a time as Starmer solving the problems facing Britain — which Jenrick chalked up to poor implementation of Brexit by his own former party as well as by Labour.