Well… that happened quickly… barring some unforeseen event, Andy Burnham, installed as an MP only a couple of weeks ago, will be Prime Minister on Monday, 20th July.

He is going to be a bit busy. He has to appoint over 90 other MP’s into Government positions. Apparently, most Labour MP’s are supporting his coronation and many are sending him nice messages, enclosing their CV in the hope of getting a plum job.

There is a detectable level of excitement that comes with a new broom. It’s possible, but unlikely, we will get a General Election soon, with just over three years to run before we have to do so.

I am not expecting him to overturn local government reorganisation. I don’t think the legal challenges will yield any change either.

A big positive is that his experience means that he understands local government.

It seems likely, for better or worse, that he will be looking for ways to boost growth. It will be interesting to see if the devolution agenda (taking power from Whitehall and giving it to the Regions), will do the trick.

It appears he is very keen on progressing a council house building programme. It may be successful if it means greater local control which should include making sure that we have the necessary infrastructure to support it. All this should create employment and generate tax income.

Many things in Britain are not working well. However, a sensible programme that tackles all of the issues, from immigration, climate change, prisons and probation, public transport, housing, education, social care, the NHS, defence, community cohesion and resilience, (to name but a few), should at least give us hope that things can only get better….