“It’s a long time since I’ve been asked for ID,” confessed Andy Burnham, holding a pint of Guinness and offering a wry smile to a cameraperson. “But I do remember that sinking feeling, when you’ve reached the front of the queue and you realise your driving license has gone walkabout.”

In an address to his 700,000 TikTok followers last month, the Prime Minister soft-launched new rules allowing pubgoers to use a digital ID app on their phones to buy booze. Previously, only physical ID would pass muster.

Cool Britannia doesn’t work in 2026 when there is significantly higher inflation and slower growth than in the 1990s

Cool Britannia doesn’t work in 2026 when there is significantly higher inflation and slower growth than in the 1990s

“That’s one less thing to remember before a night out!” Burnham, whose predecessors created the NHS, won World War II, brought peace to Northern Ireland and legalised same-sex marriage said, beaming triumphantly and swigging from his drink.

It has been almost three months since Burnham seized control of the Labour Party and the country in a manner that would make Machiavelli blush. Since then, he has shown us just what kind of politician he is.

Unlike Reform’s Nigel Farage, he has not whipped people up into an anti-establishment frenzy, while managing to somehow shake off the stains of a public-school education and career in the city.........

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