Andy Burnham has sent an email round to all Labour MPs promising to appoint a “broad church” of ministers.
In the email he vows to overhaul whips office so it is no longer something to be feared and says that no more legislation will be presented as “fait accomplit” by ministers and officials
The email says
“I want colleagues to be able to raise problems and suggest policy ideas or support important matters to their constituents without fear or favour. The feedback loop of the PLP into communities and back to the leadership and cabinet is critical to good policy-making and delivery. It will make us a better government, and a stronger team.”
The Government he says will be “broad church” and “all appointments will be made on merit”
He also says that he Wants to make Parliament “more accessible and relatable”
Andy Burnham has pledged to rebuild the country’s “hard power” by ensuring that billions of pounds of additional defence spending is focused on the UK rather than given to American or European companies
In his first big foreign policy intervention, the prime minister in waiting said that he wanted to “level with” the public about the amount of money that would be required to meet the UK’s pledge to spend 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2035
Writing in The Times, he said he wanted the investment to go into “regenerating and reindustrialising the country”, supporting British jobs and British workers, instead of relying on equipment bought from other countries
He said Britain needed to reduce its foreign dependency, adding that doing so was “critical for both our economic and national security” and would be a core priority for his premiership
He also pledged to build closer ties with European countries on defence and security, particularly France and Germany, while also committing to going faster in negotiations with the EU more broadly on tackling illegal migration and economic security
Meanwhile Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell has said that while Andy Burnham would take the approach in the national interest, domestic issues are his top priority.
