Oh dear. It seems that we have already reached that stage of the government where ambitious ministers believe that it is in their interests to come out against the ‘official’ No. 10 line. In recent weeks, Mr S has been struck by the number of would-be leadership contenders who are now giving big interviews: Al Carns in the Times, Yvette Cooper in the Guardian and John Healey in the New Statesman. Now, it is the turn of Lisa Nandy: long-briefed as one of the first ministers whom Starmer would sack. Look how the tables have turned…
In a big glossy piece with the House magazine, the patron saint of northern causes gives both barrels on the Labour leadership’s decision to block Andy Burnham from standing for Gorton and Denton. The Culture Secretary calls the Mayor of Greater Manchester ‘a friend of mine’, saying:
He’s my mayor, and he was my neighbouring MP for seven years. I think he’s a huge asset to the party. And I’ve said before, I’ll say again, I’ll support him in whatever he wants to do. I think it is right that members are allowed to make their own choices about who they want to be their candidates in elections – I’ve always thought that right. And while I respect the views of colleagues on the National Executive Committee, I… had I been sitting in that seat… I would have voted to allow him to stand, as Lucy [Powell] did.
It’s a reminder of Starmer’s impotence: in the September reshuffle, he could not bring himself to dismiss Nandy while the one woman he did sack – Powell – was swiftly reinstalled in the political cabinet just four weeks’ later, having won on an implicit anti-No. 10 ticket. Not long now until 7 May…
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