Setting aside how he got the PM job, Andy Burnham appears to be a good guy! Hope he does well…

If you ever attended football matches in the 80s, and you are unlucky enough to find yourself in a corner with 5 supporters of the opposition and they round on you and circle you, and you begin to fear for the worst, but just before the blows come raining down on you, as you expect, one of the five step forward and tells the others that it’s enough and they shouldn’t hit you. The other four get loud and angry and say they must beat you up, but that fifth guy stands firm and tells his mates NO. Eventually, they relent. Yell a few more insults at you and then walk away, leaving you shivering in the corner and thanking your luck that that fifth guy stood firm! WELL, THAT FIFTH GUY USED TO BE BRITAIN!
We weren’t perfect, we are associated with the same murky stuff from the past e.g. selling human beings. BUT, when someone had to stand up and be that fifth guy, it was always Britain.
Today, we have erred a bit, and we are allowing people to divide us and brew intolerance, such that we are now turning on each other: the Brexit divide, the treatment of migrants divide etc. But I am sure we will soon find our way back to being Britain and being that fifth guy who will say NO. No to violent protests. Yes to protesting and stating concern for the status of uncontrolled migration. But No to violence and turning on each other. We weren’t perfect always that fifth guy who steps up for decency…