The ground is up, the sky is down, and Andy Burnham’s vibe just isn’t “establishment”, you know? That last bit’s according to Guardian columnist Johnathan Freedland. Though, of course, that statement makes almost as much sense as either of the other two.

“Burnham’s vibe is not establishment.”

Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland says it’s difficult for the Green Party to run an “anti-establishment” campaign against PM Andy Burnham. #Newsnight pic.twitter.com/MynzDRDdez

— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) August 19, 2026

Politics is about vibes – and Burnham is vibing

In his recent appearance on *BBC’s**Newsnight,*Freedland opined that:

So much of politics in the 21st century is about *vibes,*and part of the vibe of Zack Polanski is …one of his messages that he’s the anti-establishment candidate on the left.

Freedland pronounces ‘vibe’ there like a recently acquired novelty from a foreign language, as opposed to – you know – common parlance for anyone aged 40 or below. Also, politics is a surface-level popularity contest now? What is the world coming to!

Freedland goes on:

That was easy when you’re running against SirKier Starmer, who looked like, even if it was more complicated, he looked like an establishment figure.

Andy Burnham’s vibe is not establishment in the same way – the Manchester, the outsider, the t-shirt under the jacket. Just, the vibe of him is different.

‘He can’t be the establishment – he’s from the North! AND he wears a t-shirt.’ Absolutely cracking political analysis right there, a credit to Newsnightfor airing it. I bet Burnham doesn’t even pronounce ‘scone’ right, the bloody renegade.

#1 warm-up act for No.10

Then, we get to the crux of the matter:

It’s harder to run a left anti-establishment message against Andy Burnham than it was against Keir Starmer.

You know what, I’ve got to give Freedland that one. That’s hardly a complement though – it’s just that Starmer was a howling, soulless void in the shape of a man. Practically anyone would look like a mover-and-shaker following that act.

Not you, Wes Streeting. I said practically anyone.

Freedland then heaped praise on Burnham’s integrity, of all things:

And then in terms of substance, you’ve got a prime minister now who says that 40 years of neoliberalism was a terrible mistake – well that’s stealing a kind of Zack Polanski line, and trying to close off Gaza as an issue by saying ‘we got things wrong’.

Really demonstrating the point that politics is vibes-based there mate. Burnham may criticise neoliberalism, but his actions say another thing. As the Canary’sCameron Baillie wrote:

Burnham says he would still obey Rachel Reeves’s fiscal rules. That means accepting the same Treasury constraints that have blocked serious public investment for decades. Can you really challenge neoliberalism while simultaneously reassuring bond markets, protecting fiscal rules, and refusing to confront financiers?

And don’t even get me started on how much ‘we got things wrong’ on Gaza doesn’t even begin to cover it. Call me when Burnham admits the UK is complicit in genocide, and then follows through and bloody does something about it.

‘Adolescent politics’

Freedland finished off his insightful ramble with two final bangers:

So he’s trying to eat into the Polanski base, and so far pollsters are saying that voters have shifted to Labour, they’ve actually come more from the Green side than the Reform side. So it’s Polanski, even in a way more than Farage, who has to worry about Burnham very specifically.

Again, Burnham is following Starmer’s premiership. It’s hardly the political shock of the century if some Labour voters who couldn’t bring themselves to vote for the centrist’s centrist have now returned to the fold.

Also, I just think Burnham’s kind of doing stuff shows up Polanski’s adolescent politics, the sort of protest gesture stuff, while Burnham is there in Downing Street – or in Number Ten North – actually able to affect change. Some voters on the left will look at that choice and think “we’d rather go with the guy who can actually do things, rather than just wear a slogan on a t-shirt.

It’s almost like one of them’s the prime minister and the other isn’t even an MP. But sure, Burnham’s the very spitting image of an anti-establishment figure.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to claim Polanski’s a 100% political outsider by any stretch. The man was a Lib Dem – though of course, we all deserve second chances.

But next to Andy ‘I was in Blair’s cabinet during the Iraq war‘ Burnham? Why, Polanski’s practically popping off AND *rizzed up,*as the kids are saying.

Featured image via the Canary

By Grace

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