Andy Burnham at the Labor Party Conference: Back to the good old days

Andy Burnham is the most backward-looking Prime Minister Britain has ever had. In a country where, according to most people, everything used to be better, he captures the spirit of the times. The right wing around Nigel Farage is capitalizing a lot on the longing for old times. If Andy Burnham has his way, the left should do the same now - but differently.

As a keynote speaker at the ruling Labor Party's annual conference, Burnham focused on longing. In 1945 we had already managed to build a better country, he shouted, referring to the then Labor government, which built the modern welfare state after winning the Second World War. For forty years - since the dismantling of this welfare state by Margaret Thatcher's Conservatives in the 1980s - Great Britain has been on the wrong path.

This must now be corrected, more public scrutiny must be dared and the country should be given new hope. In case anyone didn't understand, the convention theme was "Hope Again," and Burnham took the stage to The Farm's 1991 song "All Together Now" - a song that evokes the sacrifice of soldiers in the First World War with the lines "Boy, remember your ancestors died by the millions for the pride of the country."

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“All Together Now – that’s my battle cry!” Burnham shouted and declared: If we Brits stick together, we can’t be stopped. Who needs Nigel Farage anymore? Left-wing critics can now complain that Burnham is taking on the emotions of the right. You should rather ask yourself why Farage was able to tap into old left-wing emotions for years: namely the desire to build a better country together. Can Burnham remove the breeding ground for the shift to the right with a new sense of longing?

The Labor Prime Minister still has little to offer in concrete terms. But no one makes the vague look as beautiful as Andy Burnham.