Dear oh dear. Labour conference is just days away but as the party prepares to come together it would appear its politicians are coming apart. Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham gave a rather revealing interview this week in which he called for ‘wholesale change’ to prevent an ‘existential’ crisis, set out his own brand of lefty politics – Manchesterism – and refused to rule out a return to Westminster. Now communities secretary Steve Reed has hit back in a defence of Prime Minister Keir Starmer – dismissing Burnham’s ‘potshots’. Ouch.
Speaking to Sky News, Reed remarked:
[Burnham] is entitled to his view, but we’ve heard these kinds of comments before. When Labour was in opposition, there used to be people that would take potshots at Keir Starmer. He then picked this party up off the floor and led us to a record-breaking general election victory.
The gloves are coming off…
It comes after a new poll by More in Common projects that a Burnham-led Labour party would overtake Reform in the polls. But like a number of Sir Keir’s cabinet in recent weeks, Reed went on to say that Burnham was ‘doing a great job’ as the mayor of Greater Manchester – perhaps a veiled way of saying that he should remain where he is. Reed went on to warn that it was crucial that all elected Labour politicians should ‘pull together to deliver the change this country wants to see’. He went on to tell BBC Breakfast: ‘Our job now is to talk to the country, not to ourselves, about how we’re going to change the things that they care about.’ Shots fired!
While his interview has been viewed by many as a leadership pitch from the left, Burnham rowed back a little on BBC Radio Manchester this morning, insisting: ‘I am here to support the party in whatever way I can… I’m here to support the government.’ The government will certainly be hoping so too, ahead of Labour’s big meet in Liverpool. Starmer hardly needs more bad news right now…
Comments