When Labour won a landslide election victory in 2024, picking up seats in every single part of the country, many of us felt it was a chance to reconnect politics with places that had felt ignored for far too long. That was certainly what I felt talking to people across our rural and coastal constituencies before the election. From the farmers frustrated by years of uncertainty, or the fishing communities and seaside towns desperate for investment, it was clear that whilst people didn’t expect miracles, they did want to feel that somebody was listening to them.
But just two years later, it’s clear that our Labour Government has not been able to convince them.
Opinion polling tells part of that story and disastrous local election results bring the message home. In many of the towns and communities Labour needs to hold at the next election, there is a strong sense that government is still something that happens somewhere else. It feels as if decisions are made nationally and then presented locally.
That’s why Andy Burnham's impending arrival into Downing Street feels so significant.
The term Manchesterism is being used a lot at the moment, but I think it’s message is actually quite simple. People tend to make better decisions about their own communities than distant institutions do. The success Greater Manchester has delivered has come from having the freedom to try things, and find ways to make them work locally. That idea should not stop at Manchester but be driven out to our rural and coastal communities.
Take farming as one example. Looking back, some of the rows that engulfed our party over agricultural property relief and farming support were not entirely about the detail of the policy, but they became symbols of something much bigger. Too many people in the countryside felt government saw farming through the lens of tax and environmental targets, rather than as a strategic national industry that produces great food, and supports the wider economy. We allowed an “us and them” narrative to be formed.
That is why I hope a Burnham Government will look at delivering something powerful like a British Food Security Act. Legislation is not a silver bullet, but it would make a statement about the Government’s priorities. Food security would sit at the centre of government thinking rather than being treated as one objective among many. In opposition, we coined the phrase "food security is national security", and I still believe that is true. It speaks directly to resilience, economic security and national renewal.
The same principle applies around the coast. I am always struck by how often people in Westminster talk about coastal communities without really understanding them. Places such as Blackpool, Great Yarmouth, Scarborough and Thanet are not simply tourist economies. They have skilled workforces, proud local identities and enormous potential. Yet many still contend with lower wages, and fewer opportunities than other parts of the country.
That is why the idea of a Coastal Challenge Programme is so appealing. Tony Blair's London Challenge transformed educational outcomes because it was ruthlessly focused, and long term in its ambition. Coastal Britain deserves something with that same level of commitment. Not another bidding round, not another patchwork of funding pots, but a recognition that some thigs require sustained attention if they are to fulfil their potential.
What makes Burnham's politics particularly interesting is that the answer for him is rarely more centralisation.
That is why looking at something like Community Wealth Funds for coastal and rural areas could be a great opportunity. The concept is straightforward: give local people genuine influence over investment decisions instead of assuming Whitehall always knows best. It is clear we need to deliver long-term funding to towns and villages that can create community-owned pubs, shops, transport services and wider town-centre regeneration. Whilst the introduction of Pride in Place Funding is already looking to make a difference, it is vital we deliver long-term support rather than a quick sticking plaster, and maintain local ownership.
The Co-operative movement has always understood this, which is one of the reasons I am proud to be a member. We know that people are far more likely to support change when they have a stake in it.
The same thinking could shape a Rural Growth Guarantee. Rural communities are often discussed as though they are problems to be solved, but they are not. They are home to successful businesses, food producers, innovators and entrepreneurs. In many cases, the barriers to growth are surprisingly basic: transport, digital connectivity, access to skills and reliable public services. Get those foundations right and growth tends to follow.
Perhaps the clearest example of where Labour has an opportunity to reconnect with voters is the environment. The reality is that most people do not wake up worrying about environmental policy, but the reality of their surroundings. They worry about whether their local river is clean enough to swim in or about the state of their beach. They worry about flooding because they have already experienced it themselves or seen the devastation nearby.
That is why the promise of a British Rivers and Beaches Guarantee could make a real difference. It takes an issue that can sometimes feel abstract and roots it firmly in everyday life. Setting ambitious targets and promising action that will deliver will change.
Taken individually, none of these ideas will transform Labour's fortunes. Together, though, they point towards a different way of governing: less Westminster-centric, and more willing to let local communities deliver their own future.
That is ultimately what excites me most about the prospect of a Burnham premiership. Not because Manchester offers a blueprint that can simply be copied everywhere else, because it doesn’t. Rural Northumberland is not Greater Manchester. Coastal Cornwall is not Salford. The point is that places should have the freedom to find the solutions that work for them and be supported to deliver.
For a party founded on the belief that power should not be concentrated in the hands of a few, that feels like a lesson worth remembering. And perhaps it’s exactly what Labour and the country needs next.
Josh Kaile is a former Labour political adviser for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
