Andy Burnham might not know it yet but it’s not just his honeymoon that’s over – it’s his premiership. The man who’s hellbent on bankrupting Britain by dragging us back into the 70’s is about to be hit by a financial tidal wave which won’t just do for him – but will wreck the country as well. And the tragedy is – he can’t even see it coming.

But the bond markets can. The financial analysts can. Everyone with even a scintilla of knowledge about how the economy works can – but not man-of-the-people Andy. All he can do is waffle on about bus fares and cowboy builders. Everything this political dinosaur talks about comes straight out of the 1970’s socialist handbook which is all about borrowing and taxing anyone who’s still stupid enough to go out and earn a crust.

What he’s not understanding is that the bond markets aren’t going to let him realise any of his socialist dreams because after just a few weeks in office they see him for what he is – a man incapable of balancing the books and so they’re charging Britain ruinous interest rates on our borrowing, the likes of which haven’t been seen since 2007. And what that means is that taxpayers are having to cough up more than £350MILLION a day in interest alone on our £3TRILLION debt which this year has added up to a staggering £135BILLION.

That’s more than twice the Defence budget. Just think about that! We pay TWICE as much in interest on our debt that we do to keep our nation safe. And just this week those sky-high interest rates have blown £14BILLION black hole in the nation’s finances and Burnham’s only solution to that will be to tax hardworking Brits till they squeak.

But this kind of tax punishment can’t go on. It is ruining families, businesses and people’s lives. The International Monetary fund has already said Britain is moving towards “peak taxation” – the point at which taxing people becomes counterproductive. The same IMF has been warning Burnham to quit the spending sprees and start paying off Britain’s debts. But Manchester Man just isn’t listening.

Even now the doom-laden predictions of a market crash, of rocketing interest and mortgages rates, of a full-scale financial crisis don’t appear to be getting through Burnham’s thick skull. Because all he’s doing is twittering on about the politics of hope, about devolution and No. 10 North, about nationalising the water companies, about reindustrialisation, about solving the cost-of-living crisis. But none of the above is ever going to happen because there is no money.

What’s it’s going to take for this bone-headed people pleaser to realise he can’t keep promising stuff he has no way of paying for. Because that’s what he’s been doing – promising us the world and promising a total reset of how politics is done, with sod-all money to pay for any of it.

All he’s done since being elected is parrot nonsense from the socialist handbook peddling age-old outdated policies that were ruinous 50 years ago and would be even more so now.

The fact is Burham is STILL addicted to welfare, he STILL wants to expand the state by taking control of energy housing and water not realising that all this wouldn’t just end his premiership, it would bankrupt Britain to boot.

I used to think Starmer was scary, but Burnham is so far out of his depth it’s terrifying. The man just doesn’t see that Britain is teetering on the brink of financial disaster and that only the strongest, toughest, smartest of leaders can stop it going over the edge. And Burnham just isn’t that man.

Now is precisely the time we need another Thatcher and there just isn’t one in the Labour Party. The nearest thing we have in politics is Kemi Badenoch and she’s in no position to do what needs to be done.

Never forget Burnham’s the bloke who said we should never be in hock to the bond markets which is exactly where he is right now. Those markets currently have his goolies in a vice and they’re going to keep them there until he reigns in his spending. The trouble is our PM won’t be the only one to feel the pain – it’s the British people who will be screaming in agony.

Of course, Burnham’s still determined to blame everything on Thatcher and Brexit and this week he’s actually been saying that what’s happening in the markets now is because of what the Tories did. I mean the actual brass bloody neck of it. The stupidity of it! No, the reason the markets are raging is because as Kemi says: “They realise we have a spendthrift PM who says Yes to everyone but can’t tell us where the money is coming from.”

It’s also because the people who lend Britain money see that neither Burnham or anyone in his government is making the slightest effort to pay off our debt or control public spending. And THAT means they’ll keep increasing interest rates which will cripple this country and everyone in it.

The deluded Burnham can insist this catastrophe is about Brexit and Thatcher till he’s blue in the face but no-one’s buying it. We all know who’s responsible for where we are now – it’s our catastrophic Labour government that would rather see Britain and its people go to the wall than admit its tax and borrow policies will never work.

Have the finances of a country ever been in the hands of a bigger bunch of fools than this shower? Doesn’t our PM get when he was banging on about Liz Truss in the Commons this week – saying her 49 days in office triggered a market meltdown – that he’s in exactly the same position now as she was back then. In fact, it’s worse now because gilt yields are already way higher than they were at the time of the Truss budget. And Burnham could very soon be wiped out in the humiliating way she was.

The man hasn’t been in office for two months but if he’s got even a scintilla of sense he must surely know he’s done for.

He’s not going to be able to do any of the things he promised. All he can do is ruin us. Which is why he needs to drop the fantasy social dogma and do a bit of research into what happens to PM’s who ignore financial crises whilst sticking two fingers up at the markets.

Because what history has made clear time and again is that these idiots are very quickly run out of office – never to return.

Andy Burnham has already lost his bounce – and now his honeymoon is about to blow up

Andy Burnham entered Downing Street in July with a political advantage that many new prime ministers would envy. After years as Greater Manchester’s mayor, he returned to Westminster with a strong personal profile, a reputation for speaking directly to voters and a political programme built around his idea of “Manchesterism”.

Two months later, however, there are early indications that the initial surge in public goodwill is beginning to soften.

That does not mean Burnham has become unpopular. The latest polling still gives him a positive overall approval balance. But several measures show that his position has become less comfortable, while the demands facing his government are becoming considerably greater.

YouGov’s September figures found that 46% of Britons had a favourable opinion of Burnham, unchanged from August, while 39% viewed him unfavourably. His net favourability therefore stood at +7, down six points from the previous month. YouGov described the movement as potentially indicating that the early “honeymoon period” was beginning to fade, although Burnham’s rating remained positive.

Another recent Opinium poll similarly found Burnham with a positive net approval rating of +5, although that represented a one-point fall.

The figures provide a more complicated picture than the headline suggests.

The end of the honeymoon?

Burnham’s arrival in Downing Street was unusual.

He had spent almost a decade outside Westminster, building his political identity as mayor of Greater Manchester. His return to national politics followed his victory in the Makerfield by-election and a change of Labour leadership.

Reuters described his return to Parliament as making him the leading figure in the race to succeed Keir Starmer at the time, while also identifying “Manchesterism” as the economic and political philosophy Burnham wanted to bring to national government.

Once he became prime minister, Burnham immediately presented himself as a different kind of leader.

He promised “politics done differently”, called for greater cross-party cooperation and argued that Britain needed substantial change. His early programme focused heavily on transferring power away from Whitehall and towards regions and local government.

That approach generated considerable attention.

But honeymoon periods in politics are usually easier to sustain when a new government is announcing ambitions rather than confronting the full consequences of implementing them.

Burnham is now moving into that second phase.

From announcements to delivery

The central challenge is turning a large collection of promises into policies that work in practice.

One of Burnham’s biggest early initiatives has been his plan to “rewire the state”. The government has announced additional powers and financial responsibilities for English mayors, including the ability to retain a share of locally raised income tax and business rates.

The Institute for Government described the proposals as major changes to England’s devolution settlement, while warning that the next stages would be crucial. It said the government would need to clarify the details of the system and establish effective accountability arrangements.

That distinction matters.

Announcing devolution is relatively straightforward. Creating a system that gives regions meaningful control while maintaining accountability for taxpayers and public services is considerably more complicated.

Burnham has also promised further details later in the year, including a major budget in October and a longer-term 10-year plan.

Those events will give voters and MPs much more information about what his government actually intends to do.

The economy could become the real test

For all the attention surrounding constitutional and regional reform, the economy may ultimately prove more important to Burnham’s political fortunes.

The government faces the same fundamental pressures that confronted its predecessor: public-service demands, constrained finances, economic growth concerns and the cost of borrowing.

The House of Lords Library has noted that Burnham has committed to the existing fiscal rules and that his government intends to provide further details about its economic and spending plans in the October budget.

That creates a difficult balancing act.

Burnham wants a more interventionist state, greater investment in regions and expanded public services. At the same time, the government must demonstrate that its spending commitments are compatible with its fiscal framework.

The gap between political ambition and financial reality is where many new administrations encounter their most difficult problems.

Devolution is Burnham’s signature project

Burnham’s strongest political identity remains closely associated with devolution.

During his time as mayor, Greater Manchester became an important example of regional government in England. Transport was particularly central to that record.

A YouGov survey of Greater Manchester residents found that 75% believed Burnham had done a good job on transport. However, views were more divided on housing: 31% said he had done a good job compared with 39% who said he had done a bad job.

That distinction could become important nationally.

Burnham is attempting to take policies associated with Greater Manchester and apply them across the country. But what works in one city-region does not automatically translate into a national policy.

England’s regions have different economies, transport systems, housing markets and local-government structures.

The government will therefore have to demonstrate that “Manchesterism” can operate beyond Manchester.

Water is another major political challenge

Water policy is emerging as another area where Burnham wants a significant change.

The prime minister has spoken about greater public control of essential services, while more recently reports have suggested that his government is considering a regional oversight model for water companies.

The Financial Times reported that Burnham was exploring the possibility of nine regional water authorities involving mayors, council leaders and experts. These bodies would set objectives and monitor companies rather than simply replacing the existing regulator outright.

That proposal illustrates another difficulty.

There is a major difference between saying that essential services should work better and deciding exactly how their regulation, ownership and investment should operate.

Any reform could involve significant legislative, financial and regulatory consequences.

Number 10 North brings its own problems

Burnham’s decision to establish Number 10 North in Manchester is one of the clearest symbols of his regional approach.

The idea is to place part of central government closer to the regions and demonstrate that national policymaking does not have to be concentrated entirely in London.

But the project has already generated practical questions.

ITV reported in September that Greater Manchester Police was facing an estimated £10 million budget overspend, with the force saying that the arrival of Number 10 North had created additional demands alongside other financial pressures.

That does not establish that Number 10 North caused the entire financial problem. But it demonstrates the kind of operational complication that accompanies Burnham’s attempt to change how government is organised.

Public expectations may be harder to manage

Perhaps the biggest risk to Burnham’s honeymoon is not a single policy announcement.

It is the accumulation of expectations.

His political appeal has been built partly around the idea that government can work differently: more locally, more practically and with greater intervention in areas such as transport, housing, energy and water.

That creates high expectations.

A YouGov survey conducted among Greater Manchester residents before Burnham became prime minister found that 66% believed he had done an overall good job as mayor. Yet only 33% expected his premiership to leave Britain better off, while 25% expected Britain to be worse off and 27% thought it would make no difference.

Those figures suggest that even people familiar with Burnham’s record were not automatically assuming that success in Greater Manchester would translate into national success.

The autumn could change the political atmosphere

The coming months are therefore likely to be important.

Burnham’s government has already announced a substantial programme covering devolution, planning, transport, energy, education, housing and public services.

But the autumn will bring more detailed tests.

The budget will force ministers to explain how their priorities will be financed. Further legislation will expose the government’s proposals to parliamentary scrutiny. And voters will have more time to judge whether early announcements are producing visible results.

The House of Lords Library has described the government’s agenda as centred on “rewiring the state”, with further details expected later in the year.

That means the political conversation is gradually shifting.

In July, the question was what Burnham might do.

By autumn, the question will increasingly be what he has actually delivered.

A warning sign, not a verdict

The latest polling should therefore be interpreted carefully.

Burnham has not suffered a collapse in popularity. YouGov still recorded 46% favourable views against 39% unfavourable views, while Opinium continued to show a positive approval balance.

What has changed is the direction of some measures.

His net favourability has fallen, dissatisfaction with the government remains high, and the initial excitement surrounding his arrival in Downing Street is being replaced by closer scrutiny.

That is normal for a new government.

The honeymoon is easiest when voters are judging promises. It becomes much harder when they are judging results.

Burnham’s next challenge will therefore be to convert the political energy surrounding “Manchesterism” into measurable improvements in living standards, public services, economic growth and regional opportunity.

Whether the autumn becomes a turning point will depend not simply on how popular Burnham remains, but on whether his government can demonstrate that its ambitious programme can be delivered within the financial and institutional constraints facing Britain.

For now, the polling suggests a prime minister whose initial advantage has weakened but has not disappeared.

The honeymoon may be entering a more demanding phase. The real test is only beginning.