Andy Burnham’s allies have another trick up their sleeves to get their man back in SW1 following the botched Gorton and Denton by-election plot. This summer Labour’s National Executive Committee will hold internal elections for the following positions:
Labour sources say this is the next opportunity for Burnham to make his move. The expectation is these elections will be a gift to the soft left, which in turn benefits the King of the North. It was the NEC, stuffed with Starmerites, which blocked his return just a few weeks ago.
Deputy Leader Lucy Powell (the only person who backed Burnham in the NEC elder council’s strike against him) is still supporting Starmer, but the internal thinking is she and other Burnhamites will have enough ammunition to stack the NEC once the local elections prove to be a bloodbath in May. Nominations for the NEC roles close on 26th June. Of course, events could overtake Burnham if Starmer falls before the summer, in which case a Cabinet post might have to do. The King of the North will not go gentle into that good night…
Starmer was read out a list of his 13 U-turns on BBC Radio 2, to which he responded:
“Well, I am a common sense merchant.”