Operation Crush Andy Burnham

Labour would rather burn the party to the ground than allow a progressive leader

Labour’s masters would rather burn the party to the ground than allow even a vaguely progressive politician to become leader.

That’s again been underlined by the party machine kicking into action to block Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham from standing in the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election. That seat has been vacated by Andrew Gwynne on grounds of ill-health.

The entire point of standing, of course, would be to replace Starmer as Labour leader, probably when the party is trounced in Scottish and Welsh parliamentary elections and English local elections in May.

A bit of context. According to YouGov, 75% of voters have an unfavourable view of Keir Starmer, compared to 18% who have a favourable view. That gives him a net favourability rating of minus 57.

There is no coming back from this. Starmer is sunk. As it is, Labour only won the last election with a third of the vote on the lowest turnout in democratic history - and won two-thirds of the seats because of our now completely discredited electoral system.

Notably, even his own advisors have contempt for him. Just months after being elected, they briefed that the Prime Minister was a useful idiot - a mere frontman who did their bidding.

This particular faction is driven, above all else, by a burning hatred of the left. They have no vision for the country, as the electorate swiftly discovered. Their level of political acumen was underlined by their belief that robbing pensioners of their winter fuel payment would win respect from the electorate. Operation Freeze Grannies, alas, cratered their support.

They’ve stuck doggedly to a neo-Blairite strategy of bashing state support - for example, by going after disability benefits - and attacking migrants. Their incompetence and lack of basic strategy have been repeatedly exposed by their numerous U-turns.

Andy Burnham, on the other hand, is Labour’s most popular politician. His mayoralty in Greater Manchester has been a great success, thanks to progressive policies such as public ownership of buses. The polling shows that he is best placed to win Gorton and Denton.

Burnham has set out his stall in The Guardian, arguing that the “four horsemen of Britain’s apocalypse are deindustrialisation, privatisation, austerity and Brexit.” He argues for ‘Manchesterism’ - suggesting his approach in England’s second city should be applied to the country as a whole. That includes public ownership and public investment. He’s also arguing for electoral reform - that is, junking the now totally absurd first past the post system.

And so the Labour hierarchy has roared into action. Morgan McSweeney - Starmer’s chief of staff and the strategic genius responsible for the party’s collapse - is boasting that he has stitched up Labour’s National Executive Committee to block the Mancunian mayor from standing.

There is even talk of imposing an all-women’s or all-BAME shortlist to block him. Treating the representation of women and people of colour as a factional weapon to block a candidate from standing is the sort of gutter behaviour you’d expect from the Starmer team.

Look, I abandoned the Labour party nearly two years ago, as my improved mental health can testify. But it is completely obvious that, if you take off your factional glasses, Burnham would be Labour’s best bet at winning back Reform and Green voters.

Burnham is no radical lefty. Back in 2010, he stood for Labour leader as an unabashed Blairite. As Ed Miliband’s Shadow Health Secretary, he pivoted to the soft left. But after the 2015 election, he launched his leadership campaign by veering back into Blairism. That repelled Labour members - and paved the way for the Corbynite surge.

Since then, he has gone on an obvious political journey to a more authentic and consistent soft left position. On a personal level, he is a genuinely decent man, and his affable Northern charm would prove an asset.

Personally, I have profound doubts about whether he would have the grit needed to stand up to the right-wing cesspit that is the Parliamentary Labour Party, as well as the Tories, Reform, the media, big business, the US and the pro-Israel lobby. You’d need a very strong ideological backbone to stand your ground - and his history offers up doubts about that.

It would also be the most bizarre by-election in history. It would be screamingly obvious to everyone that Burnham was only standing to replace Starmer. ‘Vote Labour to overthrow its leader’, in other words.

But if the Starmer faction really were driven by electability, then allowing Burnham back in would be a no-brainer. If Starmer had any confidence in his position - and ability to face Burnham down - then he wouldn’t be desperately trying to block him.

There is a chance that Labour’s affiliated unions could intervene to ensure Burnham is on the shortlist for local members in the constituency to vote for. It does seem rather more likely that the Starmerite factional machine will triumph. Factionalism is the only skill they excel at.

If he were to stand, by the way, it’s not absolutely nailed on he would win. He would certainly boost Labour’s chances - but the party is now so despised that many voters will refuse to vote for it come what may.

This offers a big opening for the Green Party. At the last election, they came third in the constituency, with 13.2%, just behind Reform. Since then - under the leadership of Zack Polanski - they have surged.

If Burnham is blocked, it will undeniable that the party hierarchy would rather lose than have a progressive agenda. The Greens would be able to love-bomb Labour and position themselves as the only viable alternative to Reform. This is what Plaid Cymru pulled off in the recent Caerphilly by-election.

Whatever happens, Starmer will be weakened still further. He will look like coward - and a cynical coward at that. Burnham or no Burnham, Starmer will fall. The question is how much of the Labour party he will take with him.