After disastrous local election results in early May the pressure on Starmer to stand down ratcheted up. Not because he is failing to lead a progressive government and has reneged on almost all his manifesto commitments, but because the MPs in the Parliamentary Labour Party are feeling nervous about their job insecurity. A majority, 211 of the 411 Labour MPs, are first-timers and unless the fortunes of the Labour Party change substantially they will be last-timers too.
The wheelers and dealers of the Labour rightwing are the crucible of the Burnham project. The disgraced Makerfield MP Josh Simons, at the centre of a major political scandal involving the targeting, surveillance, and smearing of British journalists, stood down to make way for Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester. The ensuing arrival of the “King of the North” in Westminster is a last chance for Labour to hold onto power in 2029.
In truth, the appointment of Andy Burnham as Prime Minister will not respond to any democratic revival in the Labour Party and in all likelihood will lead to no great changes in policy either. A less wooden face perhaps, but still just lipstick on a pig!
(Featured image by Google Gemini)
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