Andy Burnham just unleashed Starmerite bloodbath – this will haunt him | Personal Finance | Finance
Like a modern-day Odysseus, Andy Burnham hacked down one career after another. Rachel Reeves, David Lammy, Darren Jones, Dan Jarvis, James Murray, Steve Reed and Nick Thomas-Symonds all fell beneath his flashing sword. They were key figures under Keir Starmer, and paid the ultimate political price for their loyalty. Thankfully, I’m only speaking metaphorically. The transfer of power is bloodless in Westminster, unlike ancient Greece. But the underlying principles remain the same.
Burnham may favour a navy blue T-shirt over a bronze breastplate, but like any new leader he wants to assert his power and reward his followers. Burnham is the boss now. And he wants the Labour Party to know it. In total, he sacked 11 ministers, equivalent to a third of the cabinet. All were key figures under Starmer. They were left licking their wounds and nursing their pints in a Kentish Town pub and, according to The Times, found the whole process “harrowing”. In that case, I’d advise them against visiting their local multiplex to watch Christopher Nolan’s brutal cinematic retelling of The Odyssey. It could be triggering.
This shows us a new side to Burnham. So far, his defining characteristic has been that he’s a likeable man who likes to be liked. But now he’s shown he has iron in his soul. Maybe too much iron. Because now he has a raft of enemies on the backbenches. And they’ll be waiting for their moment.
One has already struck. Darren Jones was the PM’s chief secretary and Labour high flier, until Burnham struck him down. When the new PM pledged to axe the 5% VAT charge on our electricity bills, a furious Jones saw his chance to draw blood of his own. Burnham said the £850million cost would come from scrapping the Digital ID programme, but Jones quickly pointed out that the programme was “unfunded”. The money wasn’t there.
It was only a flesh wound, and Burnham quickly parried by vowing to always “show how we’re going to pay” for policies. But it was an early warning shot.
Burnham came into power talking about making politics “more collaborative, more about problem solving”, while ending Labour factionalism. But he’s chosen a funny way to go about it. The last thing vanquished Starmerites will want to do is collaborate with a man who appears to view them as the enemy.
There are arguments for a new leader grinding his opponents into the dust, but it’s a risky strategy. A wiser king might have brought one or two Starmerites into the fold, avoiding a party split.
Today, Burnham rules the roost. But he faces a sea of terrors. Primarily the dire state of the nation’s finances, which could be dramatically worsened if Donald Trump’s war on Iran drives oil prices, inflation and interest rates still higher. If Burnham stumbles, his internal enemies will show the same mercy he showed them. None.
Burnham has called for an end to tribalism while indulging in it himself. Now he has a phalanx of enemies thirsting for his blood. The new PM went too far with his sword. The backlash could haunt him. As Odysseus warned: “Iron has powers to draw a man to ruin.”
