Britain’s New ‘King’ Will Decide Its Fate
Key takeaways
- To celebrate America’s 250th birthday, our entire site is completely unlocked this week only.
- After six failed attempts in the past decade, is Andy Burnham the prime minister finally to get Britain back on its feet?
- As in France, Germany, and elsewhere in the Western world, the next few years are seen as the last chance to preserve liberal democracy from the onslaught of far-right populism.
Welcome to FP Free Week. To celebrate America’s 250th birthday, our entire site is completely unlocked this week only. Enjoy the article.
After six failed attempts in the past decade, is Andy Burnham the prime minister finally to get Britain back on its feet? The choice of the latest wannabe savior—or rather the anointing—of someone who until a few days ago wasn’t even in the House of Commons seems at first glance a curious one.
The stakes are extraordinarily high. As in France, Germany, and elsewhere in the Western world, the next few years are seen as the last chance to preserve liberal democracy from the onslaught of far-right populism. The cause was not enhanced under the two-year failed tenure of Keir Starmer, who squandered a huge parliamentary majority with his dour incrementalism, while the populist-nationalist Reform U.K. party and the Greens became major forces.