Tuesday 30 June 2026 5:34 am  |  Updated:  Monday 29 June 2026 10:53 am

Why English literature graduates shouldn’t be Prime Minister

By: James Ford

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Andy Burnham is set to be the first ever English Literature graduate to serve as Prime Minister. James Ford is very concerned

I have a problem with Andy Burnham. It isn’t his litany of U-turns and policy flip flops. It isn’t that he wears a t-shirt with a suit (a bad look on anyone, but unforgivable in a man in his 50s).  It isn’t even his whole ‘King of the North’, professional Mancunian schtick (though it is certainly grating). No, my problem is more fundamental. When he inevitably takes his place at Number 10 next month, he will become our first Prime Minister to have an English Literature degree. Let that sink in. An English Literature degree. Heaven help us all. 

I know, I know – I am probably the last person who should call out anyone for their degree. I have a degree in War Studies from King’s College London. It’s a choice that has raised many a quizzical eyebrow at job interviews. People assume my education consisted of three years playing the popular board game Risk........

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