Burnham has said the “plan is working” on small boats after ignoring them completely since taking office. How does his first week stack up?
Burnham took office on 20 July 2026. His first seven days, 20 to 26 July, saw 881 small boat arrivals in 13 boats.
Starmer took office on 5 July 2024. His first seven days, 5 to 11 July, saw 546 arrivals. The week ending 27 July 2025 saw 643 arrivals in 11 boats. Burnham’s week is up 37% on that…
Crossings are falling in general: there were 13,350 arrivals in 2026 to 26 July against 24,081 at the same point in 2025. Migration experts say there is a wider reduction in the numbers arriving to the European continent from the Middle East and Africa. No celebration from Team Mahmood yet – they know it could go back up…
Tom Baldwin, author of Starmer’s hagiography, spoke to Times Radio:
Tom Baldwin: “I think he’d like to do something. He’s very dutiful and driven by service. That’s why he came into politics. I think that’s characterised his time as prime minister. He hasn’t always sought popularity or been good at being popular. But I think he has some of the necessary qualities that we actually do want in a prime minister. That resilience, that relentlessness, that ability to carry the weight and the job really does weigh very heavily on people and he carries that weight very, very well.”
Jo Coburn: “NATO Secretary-General?”
Tom Baldwin: “I think that’s something that he would be interested in. I think it probably requires Andy Burnham’s government to support him in that and these are some of the questions which Andy Burnham has to resolve quite quickly.”