Greater Manchester’s Mayor Andy Burnham has criticised Kier Starmer’s leadership for its internal management of the Labour Party,
In an interview with The BBC he slammed the decisions to suspend Labour MPs from the Parliamentary Party for voting against the Government
“That doesn’t seem fair to me” he told the programme
He said that the time is right to have a discussion about the internal structure of the party asking for a style that is less factional and more pluralistic m
He wished the new cabinet well and offered his support but said it was time for a reset adding that if the party says it is going to do something then it should go on and just do it, citing the delays over the Hillsborough Law
When questioned about likely candidates for the role of Deputy Leader he said it would be nice if it went to a Northerner, mentioning Louise Haigh and Manchester MO Lucy Powell who was sacked as leader of the Commons in Friday’s reshuffle which also saw Greater Manchester’s Mike Kane and Jim McMahon also leaving ministerial roles
Powell he said “did a brilliant job in government.”
Speculation is said to be rife among Labour MPs that Burnham’s endorsement of Powell presages her running in the deputy leadership election as the soft left candidate, thus turning the contest into a “surrogate election for if and when Andy gets a parliamentary seat in the next few months”.according to ITV’s Robert Peston who added in a post on X that:
“One MP said that the PM is “petrified that Andy will return and be the natural candidate to succeed an ousted Starmer”.
