The leader of the UK Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has described the prospective prime minister as a “people pleaser”. She accused him of running away from scrutiny.

In a clip shared on X on Sunday, Ms Badenoch said, “What I am not going to do is give Andy Burnham a blank check. This is a man who doesn’t want scrutiny. He doesn’t want anyone asking him tough questions. He just wants to be people pleaser.”

Mr Burnham is set to become the UK Prime Minister on Monday (today) after Keir Starmer resigned from the office in June over unpopular policies.

Ms Badenoch, who expressed concern over the UK’s present situation, insisted that Mr Burnham lacked the courage to make tough decisions.

“What the country needs right now is somebody who can take tough decisions, who can face down the Labour MPs. They don’t want to do anything difficult, and that is what worries me.

“I have known Andy before. He is a nice guy, but he is a people pleaser. The job isn’t a popularity contest. It is making the lives of the people outside the building better, and he has not said what he plans to do. It’s been all airy fairy stuff.”

Meanwhile, Mr Burnham, in an interview with The Times on Sunday, insisted that different things were not working in the country and promised to do them differently.

“To be clear to people, it can’t be done overnight. But you’ve got to show people where we’re going, and then the steps towards it. And that’s what I’m going to try to do,” the incoming PM stated.