Andy Burnham's speech at the People's History Museum in Manchester marked a stark contrast to Prime Minister Keir Starmer's style. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.

On Monday, Starmer welcomed NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte outside No 10 in dark formal suits, while Burnham strode into the venue in his trademark dark T-shirt and jacket. He even joked about his thigh-skimming running shorts, saying he bought a new pair as it was "either do that or change the decency laws."

According to Labour MPs, there are three key distinctions between Starmer and Burnham: the power to communicate, the power to make an argument, and the power to give people hope. In all three, they concluded, Starmer has been lacking.

While Burnham's speech was heavy on policy mechanics, his team hopes the emotional connection he sought to strike with voters will register. "What hope can we have that it will be different this time?" he asked. "Westminster has not been working for people and it has not been working for a very long time. In fact, it is broken. And as a result, the country isn't where it should be. It is stuck in a rut, and clearly we can't go on like this."

Burnham crafted an argument about what had gone wrong with the British political system – one that Starmer has struggled to land – and how he would fix it with a massive devolution of power and resources. He also attempted to inject optimism, after criticism that Starmer had focused too heavily on hard truths and not offered enough hope.

"I hope people can begin to feel – hopefully you can – the excitement that comes with the change that I am setting out today," Burnham told his audience. "It promises a new era of possibility for Britain. Possibility for places that haven't felt it for a very long time … Let's give them that feeling, that ability to hope, to aspire for better."

Of course, one speech cannot change a country, and Labour MPs know that replacing Starmer with a more "vibesy" successor gives them a final roll of the dice. But they also know that will not be enough on its own.

Labour does, however, appear to have had a small positive bump since it became clear that Burnham would take over. When More In Common asked how people would vote with him as hypothetical leader, the party went from seven points behind Nigel Farage's Reform UK to one point ahead.

But there is a long way to go. Burnham's warmth as a communicator, his ability to articulate his vision and to inject some hope are why Labour MPs have decided they would prefer him in Downing Street.

Where he remains untested – and will not be until he makes it into office – is in another crucial area where many MPs felt that Starmer had failed: his political judgment when faced with decisions that only a prime minister can make.

Some are also concerned about whether Burnham has what it takes to drive his radical project through Whitehall and his party, to deliver the change he has promised. If he fails, Labour's last roll of the dice won't have been worth it.

Nor has he, since winning the byelection, subjected himself to the sort of scrutiny expected of a putative prime minister, refusing to take any questions from the media after his speech, and not expected to take over the country until after the Commons has risen for summer recess.

All that said, the man from Makerfield's reputation for fighting for ordinary people – who for so long have felt that the UK's political system is not working for them – is a big plus on the ledger as he enters No 10.

Alongside other historical artefacts, on display in a glass cabinet at the People's History Museum is the navy workwear utility jacket that Burnham wore while making a defiant speech against lockdown funding in October 2020. It went viral, burnishing his reputation as the "king of the north" and fuelling speculation he could become a future Labour leader. He will be expected to take that fighting spirit into No 10 with him.