Starmer vowed to be an ‘ordinary’ PM, but it’s not an ordinary job — as ‘normal bloke’ Burnham is about to find out

Attempts at being relatable rarely last for whoever is in No 10, and claims that Starmer wants Nato’s top job are a sign he accepts that life will never be the same outside it

- Tom Baldwin

If much of Andy Burnham's appeal is based on being a “normal bloke”, the recent experience of Keir Starmer might indicate that the necessarily extraordinary job of prime minister will make it hard to be seen as “ordinary” ever again.

Let's start with the clothes. As Burnham travelled from Manchester Piccadilly along the West Coast mainline to London Euston on Monday, he swapped his trademark jeans and T-shirt for a suit in order to meet the sartorial requirements of being an MP and imminent PM. Yet the last-minute costume change in a train toilet perhaps hinted at anxiety that it would immediately make him less relatable, or even might have nudged memories of an early blow to Starmer’s credibility. After all, the so-called “freebies row” was over his declaration of thousands of pounds worth of expensive suits and glasses, donated to ensure he “looked the part of a PM”.

Then there is an armed protection team that automatically attaches itself to each prime minister for the rest of their life, insulating them from the outside world and complicating even the most “bloke-y" pastimes. In much the same way that Starmer once promised he would with Arsenal, Burnham has vowed to keep hold of his treasured Everton season ticket, saying he will always go and watch his team. But the reality is that the cost of providing security for a prime minister to sit in the stands with the real fans becomes prohibitive. So the directors box, or the glass windows of soulless corporate hospitality suites, beckons — just as it did for Starmer.

Even after leaving Downing Street, it is not so easy for former PMs to return to the real life they once enjoyed. The publicity surrounding the arson attack on Starmer’s home in London's Kentish Town last year, makes it unlikely his family can go back there.