Starmer allies see ‘hint of retribution’ in Burnham reshuffle | Andy Burnham
Keir Starmer’s allies have questioned Andy Burnham’s promise to end factional fighting after the first amendment sacked or demoted more than half the outgoing prime minister’s cabinet.
“This was a very factional cabinet reshuffle,” one of them said. “The idea that it’s anything else is ridiculous.”
Another former official said: “Being leader of a party involves having to promise things to many different people, and you can see that in some of the appointments. What was surprising was the decision to get rid of so many impressive people.”
Others were more calm, saying it was clear a new Prime Minister would want to bring in his own people and that the change was being handled sensitively, with outgoing ministers summoned directly by Burnham.
Her special advisers, who usually leave when their bosses leave, were also given the chance to discuss their future with Burnham’s deputy chief of staff, Alison Phillips.
After having a month to digest Starmer’s decision to stand down, the general mood of the outgoing team tended to be more thoughtful than bitter, paving the way for Burnham’s successor.
Starmer joined his former chancellor Rachel Reeves and a host of No 10 officials at a bar in north London on Monday evening. One person described the mood as “cheerful but with a hint of anger.”
Another source said the event was the culmination of a highly emotional period for a group of colleagues who were “a family bound together by fire”. They added: “It feels really difficult. But there is also a feeling of leaving the country in a better place.”
Many Starmer allies said that although a reshuffle was inevitable, there was “some hint of revenge” in some of the sackings and concerns ministers were being targeted simply because they were loyalists.
Some highlighted the treatment of sacked Cabinet Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds and Bridget Phillipson, who lost her education but remained equalities minister. Both were seen as quietly loyal and hard-working.
In contrast, people like Wes Streeting and John Healey, who undermined Starmer by resigning, were rewarded with senior roles, they said.
One outgoing official said: “This isn’t so much a purge of Starmerites as it is getting rid of people loyal to a Labor leader and encouraging people who are serially disloyal. That’s a dangerous message to send to your MPs.”
Another source said: “It’s a tough feeling for people like Nick, who has always done things in a very adult way. The way it’s been handled isn’t great.”
Other concerns included the feeling that No 10 senior male staff were more likely to survive under the new regime than female staff. Only one of the four major government offices is now held by three women.
But there is a recognition that politics is difficult. As one source put it: “You sign up for this knowing it’s not a job for life and it’s going to end. But it’s still a privilege. Labor governments don’t come around very often.”
