BRITAIN, 1940 - IF ANDY BURNHAM WERE IN CHARGE

What if Britain’s defiant wartime promise had been replaced by the language of processing, accommodation and distribution? A satire on leadership, borders and national resolve.

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Satirical image of Andy Burnham giving a Churchill-style speech as Nazi landing craft approach wartime Britain.
Churchill promised resistance on the beaches. This satire imagines Andy Burnham offering processing, accommodation and nationwide distribution instead.

“My fellow Britons,

Tonight, boats are crossing the English Channel -but we must be very careful about the language we use.

Some people are irresponsibly calling those aboard ‘Uninvited.’ I prefer to describe them as maritime arrivals from Germany.

For too long, Britain’s working-class coastal communities have carried an unfair share of the burden. That cannot continue.

Therefore, under my National Newcomers Distribution Scheme, German divisions will be relocated to wealthier towns and suburbs throughout the country.

One Panzer division for Surrey.
Two U-boat crews for Cheshire.
The Luftwaffe will be accommodated across the more prosperous parts of Greater Manchester.

Everyone must do their bit.

Some extremists are demanding that we stop the boats. But turning vessels around in the Channel could be interpreted as hostile - and might upset the newcomers arriving.

Others have asked whether we should defend our borders. Let me be clear: borders are complicated, resistance is divisive, and victory is no substitute for fairness.

The real question is not why the German army has reached Britain.

The real question is whether every social class is receiving its fair share of the consequences.

We shall process them on the beaches.
We shall accommodate them on the landing grounds.
We shall distribute them through the fields and streets.

And we shall never discriminate.”

Fortunately, Britain had Churchill in 1940 - not a mayor managing the fair distribution of defeat.