Andy Burnham has hired a former director of leftist campaigning outfit Hope Not Hate as his new head of political strategy in No10, according to Sam Coates. Buckle up…
Matthew McGregor was Director of Campaigns & Communications for Hope Not Hate from January 2018 to October 2021, after which he was appointed CEO of activist organisation 38 Degrees. He remained a listed Director for Hope Not Hate until 29 April 2022. Team Burnham is trying to ignore this and stress McGregor’s experience in the Obama campaign, which is far more limited…
The line briefed out to hacks for copy-and-pasting was: “He is currently CEO of 38 Degrees and has worked on elections in the U.K. and overseas, including Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign.” He had a stint of one year and three months as Digital Rapid Response director for the Obama campaign in 2011/12…
Burnham has also hired Jacinda Ardern’s old campaign director Hayden Munro as political director. Leading some Labour sources to worry about how well-connected these senior hires are to the party family…
Hope Not Hate is currently the subject of a complaint to the Electoral Commission from Nigel Farage over its charitable arm’s leafleting activities during the Makerfield by-election. Reform say that amounted to a pro-Burnham campaign dressed up as anti-extremism work. HNH is closely intertwined with Labour – it’s a revolving door…
In some cases, a study in failing upwards…
Rumours are flying that Andy Burnham will appoint Shabana Mahmood as Chancellor. What does Jacob Rees-Mogg think? Guido’s Adam Cherry met him at CPAC Great Britain this afternoon…
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Vocal Labour backbencher and left-wing bannerman Rachael Maskell has opposed Shabana Mahmood’s mooted entry to No11.
Maskell, who previously had the whip suspended after her activity as ringleader in the welfare rebellion, was named “the archetypal Labour MP” by the Times. She said of Mahmood’s inbound promotion on Times Radio:
“I don’t think Shabana would be the right person for Chancellor. I do think Ed Miliband would be a suitable candidate. Not only have I seen the way that he has led his department, and if any department in government needs leadership it is the Treasury, but also I think tying in with the climate agenda is crucial when we know that the expenditure of governments into the future is going to be addressing the challenges which climate is throwing up at us.
I do think he has got the skills and ability,experience to be able to drive forward a different agenda from Treasury, which is absolutely crucial, but also to push that out across the country as opposed to this real centralisation which has happened in the Treasury for decades upon decades.”
The large soft-left component of the PLP loves Ed Miliband and mostly despises Mahmood for being too right-wing on immigration. Some Labourites insist she will be more left-wing on the economy than expected…
The early grumbling from Labour MPs is indicative of the difficulties Burnham will have in keeping the PLP happy while pursuing something other than a leftist agenda. Watch that early Andy goodwill disappear in a puff of smoke…
Burnham will also have difficulty marrying the slightly more business-friendly sides of his organisation – James Purnell and Varun Chandra, for example – with the radical leftist advisers he has kept close like Miatta Fahnbulleh. They will come to a head and good luck avoiding briefings to the media then…
Guido’s Adam Cherry is at the inaugural CPAC Great Britain today. He bumped into Young Bob. Watch above, and subscribe to Guido’s Youtube channel by clicking here…
Jolyon is having a tough week. After apologising for offending trans activists after the Good Law Project launched a new ad campaign, the serial loser deactivated his Bluesky account. He deleted his X account some months ago…
Barrister Sarah Phillimore, who is suing him, points out that the deletion comes shortly before Jolyon presents his defence in her libel claim against him.
He also Blueskied in support of Bash Back, the militant trans group which has targeted Wes Streeting among others. It says it uses “rarely legal” methods. Jolyon had posted:
“The non-violent direct action promoted by Bash Back is the inevitable, and I would say legitimate, response to a society whose institutions, politics and media systematically dehumanise trans people. No pasarán.”
Is there anything Jolyon is capable of not losing?
Tom Baldwin, author of Starmer’s hagiography, spoke to Times Radio:
Tom Baldwin: “I think he’d like to do something. He’s very dutiful and driven by service. That’s why he came into politics. I think that’s characterised his time as prime minister. He hasn’t always sought popularity or been good at being popular. But I think he has some of the necessary qualities that we actually do want in a prime minister. That resilience, that relentlessness, that ability to carry the weight and the job really does weigh very heavily on people and he carries that weight very, very well.”
Jo Coburn: “NATO Secretary-General?”
Tom Baldwin: “I think that’s something that he would be interested in. I think it probably requires Andy Burnham’s government to support him in that and these are some of the questions which Andy Burnham has to resolve quite quickly.”