Andy Burnham’s relationship with books is unusual in modern British politics. Having studied English at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, he is now Britain’s first prime minister with an English literature degree. His academic background has clearly shaped the way he thinks about language, communication and public life.
Burnham has spoken warmly about studying English, although he has also joked that analysing literature too closely can sometimes “kill your love of reading”. For him, however, literature has always been about more than examinations. As a young man, he was particularly influenced by the Leeds poet Tony Harrison, whose poem V made a powerful impression. Burnham has recalled that Harrison showed him that “poetry could have a northern accent” — an important discovery for a young man from Lancashire.
Shakespeare is another major influence. Burnham says he read every Shakespeare play while at university and credits that experience with helping him develop as a communicator. He has explained: “I really do try and get some power into my words”, particularly in important political speeches, adding that he puts this down to his “love of Shakespeare”.
His favourite reading is not confined to poetry or Shakespeare. Burnham has named George Eliot’s Middlemarch as his favourite novel — a choice he himself described as a “classic English student answer”. He is also a fan of Charles Dickens and has a particular interest in twentieth-century poetry. His favourite poets are generally reported as Tony Harrison and Philip Larkin. Another favourite is David Peace’s The Damned Utd, the inventive novel about Brian Clough’s turbulent spell managing Leeds United.
Perhaps most revealing is Burnham’s belief in the practical value of reading. Speaking about his decision to study English, he argued that “the power of words” is beneficial in every walk of life, including business and politics. More recently, he has spoken about reading as a way of developing empathy: books allow us to encounter “a point of view that is different from our own” and therefore speak to our “common humanity”.
For Burnham, then, reading is not simply an intellectual pastime. From Shakespeare and Eliot to Harrison and Larkin, books have provided him with language, perspective and a connection to people and places beyond his own experience. His literary tastes may be more traditional than fashionable, but his underlying message is strikingly contemporary: reading helps us understand other people — and understand ourselves. Let's hope his passion will extend to his policies when it comes to encouraging a new generation of readers.