The ghosts of Downing Street past may have some advice for Andy Burnham | Jonathan Freedland

The incoming PM has made a strong start – but there are several traps he needs to avoid. Brown, Blair and even Thatcher can show the way

The first piece of unsolicited advice I would offer to Britain’s incoming prime minister is: don’t take unsolicited advice. Don’t be one of those leaders who’s swayed by the last person in their ear. That’s what they used to say about Boris Johnson, that he was a cushion that bore the imprint of the last person who sat on him. Instead, Andy Burnham should study closely the experience of Johnson and the rest of his recent predecessors – and, let’s face it, there’s plenty of them.

He might start by thinking about the period that will begin the moment he steps into Downing Street on Monday. How he handles this opening phase of his tenure is crucial: you never get a second chance to make a first impression, and all that. To many voters outside Greater Manchester, Burnham is still a relatively unknown quantity. The view they will form of him will be largely shaped by what he says and does in the next few weeks. For much of the electorate, it will be the overture that decides their verdict on the show.

Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist

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