Newly-coronated PM Andy Burnham is about to fail his own “Makerfield Test”, designed go evaluate national, economic, and foreign policy based on whether they deliver tangible benefits to everyday citizens in working-class communities. The man who seemingly needs no mandate is now contemplating a 10% flat death tax charged on all inheritances – which would be levied on everything once a person dies – and would make Brits the most taxed after death of any people in any Western country.

A typical nurse in Makerfield would face a tax of £30k upon his or her death. Burnham’s plan would disproportionately clobber the poor, designed though it is to fund a new national social care service. Surely it would make more sense if Brits could enrol in such a scheme at say aged 40 – pay into it if they want or not if they don’t – than to introduce a backdoor tax on income?

In one go, Burnham is effectively breaking his manifesto pledges while bringing in big eye-catching policies which were never in the 2024 manifesto he is allegedly sticking to. Speaking of new policies outside the scope of Starmer’s manifesto, how about giving regional mayors a share of income tax to spend locally. Whether or not it works, the point is this was never in the manifesto.

Here’s the kicker: if Burnham isn’t planning to break the manifesto then what was the point of him replacing Sir Keir? But if he is going to break it then his claim about not needing a new mandate flies out the window.

Speaking of hypocrisy, how about the fact Burnham won’t allow local authorities to decide whether they want to allow illegal immigrants to live in their areas? See the double standard when it comes to Burnham’s devolution plans? But this is a man who chops and changes over everything from Brexit to trans rights. Are we really shocked?

Burnham cannot govern on vibes alone. Yet vibes have certainly given his Labour Party a poll bounce. Burnham won’t have a better time to go the country than now. Yet for all the Burnham hype and talking down of Reform, the PM remains too scared to go to the public. So much for power in every postcode!