With MPs swopping their flip-flops and shorts for more businesslike gear now that Parliament’s reopening, our new leader is every bit as braced for action. In his case swopping nice chats with punters for being shouted at in the commons. And, as our Political Correspondent Peter Spencer reports, he’ll soon find out how sturdy the so-called Burnham bounce really is.
The point being here that with the summer recess over the boss has got to translate words into deeds. That’s to say put the nation’s money where his mouth is.
First off, on Wednesday, he’ll need to do a bit more than flutter his eyelashes at the Tory leader for his inaugural bash at Prime Minister’s Question Time.
After a pretty wobbly start Kemi Badenoch has definitely got the hang of holding her opponents’ feet to the fire.
But Andy B is a very different commodity from his predecessor. Keir Starmer may have been good on detail, but few would dispute that he was rubbish at sounding cheery.
And this stuff matters because there’s more to it than just scoring points over the other lot. The second vital ingredient is keeping your own side, well, onside.
On this front the government’s huge majority is deceptive.
That’s because the Labour ranks are restive. Each faction anxious to project its version of socialism. And all of them every bit as anxious about their own prospects.
In no small measure this is down to Nigel Farage’s Reform Party’s pole position in the polls for so long.
Lately, doubtless thanks to serious questions raised about money that’s been flooding their way, not to mention the rather silly business of that by-election in Clacton, their star has definitely waned.
But, let’s get real here, that could change once again. So much hangs on whether beaming Burnham burns out. Once more, his performance from now on matters as never before.
Then there’s the question of whether he’s minded to change the voting system. Moving away from the current winner-takes-all model to an arguably fairer proportional arrangement.
He’s long been up for it. But it seems he’s not now in quite such a rush, even though a majority of MPs – including a hefty chunk on his own side – are calling for it.
Farage used to be desperately in favour, until he started looking like a winner. Then he went quiet on the subject. Perhaps he’ll get noisier again, what with not looking quite such a winner after all.
The term realpolitik is defined in the dictionary as: ‘A system of politics based on practical rather than moral or ideological considerations.’ Point taken?
And though all this sounds a bit abstract, something to worry about another day, it actually isn’t. Because Parliament will be called upon to make a decision on the subject in the next few days.
Also in pretty immediate terms there’s the huffing and puffing going on all the time about this autumn’s budget.
Burnham’s always emphasising that the cost of living for ordinary folk is his number one priority. Tick. He’s also come up with tasty little sweeties like cheaper bus fares and lower lecky bills. Tick tick.
But, and this is a monumental but, retail offers like that are a drop in the ocean next to the real biggies.
Like how we’re going to ramp up arms spending in the face of the gremlin in the Kremlin breathing fire at us, and support from the sometimes termed Orange Manbaby in the White House sketchy at best.
Bear in mind that the Chancellor John Healey quit his old job as Defence Secretary in protest at Starmer not getting enough of a wiggle on. Meaning he’d dearly love to be on the case now. Big time.
However, he’s also stressing that he’s not going to be messing around and spooking the government’s ultimate backers in the bond markets by chucking money around that he doesn’t have.
As to how much he will have on the day, the runes are hard to read.
On the one hand, leading number-crunchers the Resolution Foundation reckon we’re doing better than official figures suggest, and that we as a nation are at long last on the up. A bit.
Against that we’ll have to pick up our share of the tab for Donald Trump’s little gift to the world, his war in Iran. That alone has sliced off about a third of the extra money Healey had in his back pocket.
The October budget, it’s pretty clear, is not looking like a pretty sight.
Burnham is already refusing to rule out tax rises. And his Downing Street neighbour is telling ministers they’ve got to make cuts.
As Tony Blair once ruefully observed: ‘It’s easy saying yes to people, saying no’s the tricky bit.’
And Burnham’s going to need all the smiles and the hugs and the handshakes he can muster to convince everyone that his spoonful of sugar’s enough to help the medicine go down.
Messaging matters. As never before. Take last week’s stats on Farage’s favourite clickbait. Immigration.
The number of asylum seekers housed in hotels has nearly halved in the last couple of years. Asylum claims are well down, likewise the backlog of applications. And the numbers removed are well up.
On top of that the tally of small boat crossings has reduced practically by half since last year.
Yet a survey not long before these figures came out revealed that most Reform and Tory voters believe that those dangerous journeys have increased. And only a fifth of those asked got it right.
These changes are a vindication of the policies introduced by Keir Starmer. And the public response to them is an indictment of his communication skills. The word skills in inverted commas.
Of course he’s not helped by the fact that most people no longer get their news from proper sources, opting instead for social media.
There’s an old jokey saying in tabloid journalism: ‘Never let the facts stand in the way of a good story.’ But there’s still some regulation, whereas keyboard warriors really can and do just make it up.
And this aided and abetted by Elon Musk’s X algorithms deliberately designed to big up nasty stuff.
All the more reason then for Burnham to follow the example of four-month-old Goosey the pet goose living at a turkey and chicken farm in Richmond, Texas.
A few nights back the barn where the flock slept caught fire and it would likely have been curtains for the lot of them but for Goosey’s very quick thinking and extremely loud honk.
Normally quiet and shy, he charged out of the barn and made such a racket that he woke the farmer in time for him whip the hosepipe out and save the lot of them.
His wife, Chelsea Gerber, was quite tearful when she said: ‘I don’t think we give animals enough credit for how emotional they truly are. They do communicate with you — just not with words.’
And in this case, she added, there was no question: ‘Goosey wasn’t just making noise, he was sounding the alarm.’
There y’go Andy. Honk like crazy. And, if they don’t hear you the first time, carry on until they do.
Watch Peter’s report at peterspencer.org
Peter Spencer has 40 years experience as a Political Correspondent in Westminster, working with London Broadcasting and Sky News. For more of his fascinating musings on the turbulent political landscape, follow him on Facebook & Twitter.