What sort of job do you think Andy Burnham has done in his first 100 days as Prime Minister?

That was the question Frank McKenna and I tried to answer in the latest episode of Northern Spin, sponsored by Sancus Lending Group.

Overall, we both gave him 8/10, but we also did a deep dive into five key areas: the North, the economy, the international stage, communications and the best of the rest.

The first thing to say is that Labour have gone from the party of no hope under Keir Starmer to a party with a realistic chance of winning the next General Election.

Burnham has provided some hope, but can he build on a promising start and deliver lasting change?

Northern Spin with Chris Maguire and Frank McKenna

We recorded the podcast on the eve of the Budget, which turned out to be a perfect metaphor for Burnham’s first 100 days in office – 98 announcements, but all relatively small.

One podcast I listen to described it as ‘Burnham’s do no harm Budget’, and I tend to agree.

Budget: Founders’ Relief a ‘shot of adrenaline’ for entrepreneurs

Chancellor John Healey used the phrase ‘breathing space’ 13 times in his speech – which was then repeated ad nauseam by Labour ministers doing the media rounds.

All the big decisions, like ending the pension triple lock, have been kicked down the road, so the jury is still out on whether Burnham can deliver on his promises.

On Northern Spin, Frank and I broke Burnham’s first 100 days as Prime Minister into five categories.

1. Burnham’s impact on the North

When No 10 North officially opened its doors on Friday, July 24th, 2026, at Heron House in Manchester city centre, Andy Burnham described it as potentially the ‘best day of my life’.

Burnham’s commitment to devolution is genuine, and he’s announced greater powers for Northern mayors and plans to move Whitehall expertise into the regions.

Andy Burnham standing outside 10 Downing Street on his first day as PM on July 20, 2026

However, I think his biggest mistake was wading into the Man City row when he said he would be ‘really concerned’ if the club’s owners decided to sell up following the financial charges against City.

It was a rare example of his political antenna not working.

Chris Maguire (CM): 9/10

Frank McKenna (FM): 9/10

2. The economy

The second area we put under the spotlight was Burnham’s impact on the economy.

It’s hard to know what one man can do to turn the economy around in 100 days, but here are a few statistics.

  • UK economy set to grow by 1.3% in 2026.
  • Inflation up to 3.5%.
  • Government deficit hit £24.5bn.
  • Diesel prices up to £2 a litre.
  • Former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane has accused Burnham of overseeing a ‘traditional tax-and-spend socialist government’.

Burnham inherited many of these problems, and his actions haven’t sent the markets into meltdown.

However, he hasn’t made any significant cuts – especially to welfare spending – and surely he’s going to have to get his scalpel out sooner or later.

He clearly hasn’t been helped by the continued fallout from the Middle East conflict.

CM: 6/10

FM: 6/10

3. The international stage

Burnham wants to focus on the domestic agenda, but international matters keep getting in the way.

He’s been happy for Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband to take the lead on issues such as the UK’s sanctions relating to illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

A few other talking points:

  • He’s invested a lot of personal capital in building closer relationships between the UK and the EU.
  • He’s met President Zelenskyy four times.
  • He had an awkward first meeting with President Trump at the United Nations General Assembly in September.
  • Burnham took his fellow Evertonian, Canadian PM Mark Carney, to watch Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium – so clearly that’s set UK-Canada relations back 100 years!

On a positive note, we haven’t witnessed the sort of protests in the UK that France is currently experiencing.

CM: 7/10

FM: 6/10

4. Burnham the communicator

Burnham is an expert communicator, although he didn’t have much to follow in Keir Starmer on this front.

I thought his speech at the Labour conference was heartfelt and brilliant.

He’s also embraced social media in a way few Prime Ministers have managed.

Critics have accused him of being a TikTok PM, but his combined social media following has grown by more than 220 per cent to 3.4m in less than four months.

His decision to appear on Gogglebox with Steve Rotheram for a cancer-related cause split opinion, but it was another example of his willingness to try something different.

For both Frank and I, communication is  Burnham’s biggest strengths.

CM: 9/10

FM: 10/10

5. Best of the rest

Reform’s support has fallen off a cliff since Burnham became PM, with one scandal after another.

The Greens and Zack Polanski are also in freefall, while I think Burnham handled the early prisoner release scheme as well as he could.

However, he needs to grasp the nettle as far as AI is concerned.

CM: 8/10

FM: 8/10

The final verdict

When we added up the scores – including our overall assessment of 8/10 – Frank and I both gave Burnham exactly the same mark – 47/60.

But the big question remains: can Burnham turn good vibes into hard decisions?

You can listen to the full episode of Northern Spin, sponsored by Sancus Lending Group, here