“His father’s illness was so advanced that he did not know his son had become prime minister…”

It was sad to read about the death of Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s father, from the BBC:

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has cancelled official engagements on Monday and Tuesday following the death of his father Roy, who had Alzheimer’s.

He had been due to host a meeting of business leaders in Downing Street on Monday, and was expected to speak at the annual trade union TUC Congress in Brighton on Tuesday.

In July, Burnham spoke about his father’s condition and said it had influenced his drive to reform adult social care in England.

He had also said his father’s illness was so advanced that he did not know his son had become prime minister.

Burnham told the BBC that while his father could not be there when he entered No 10 to take up the role, he and his mother had “exchanged a few words about my dad and how proud he would be”.

“That’s a little hard, but then again I’ve said, it’s their achievement”, he told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg in July.

“The emotion of that moment was, well, bittersweet – it was painful in one way but beautiful in another.”

The prime minister later said care home staff had shown his father footage of him entering Downing Street, calling it a “wonderful” thing.

Burnham said he wanted to help “my dad and the millions like him” when setting out plans to reform adult social care.

He said he had been “overwhelmed” by the skills and professionalism of care workers supporting his father.

I am sure many of you have had the misfortune to watch friends and family members succumb to dementia and Alzheimer’s and it’s a depressing experience no matter who you are. Even more so, not to even realise that your own son had become Prime Minister.

Brian O'Neill

Managing Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any political party. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.