Starmer to Reject Calls for Gaza Ceasefire After Party In-Fighting

Sir Keir is up in front of the cameras at 11 a.m. this morning to defend his position on the Israel-Hamas war. Having grown a spine last night after Rishi Sunak sacked Paul Bristow, Starmer suspended the whip from Andy McDonald, and is now set to face off against the left flank of his party demanding an immediate ceasefire. Despite the squawks of Andy Burnham and Sadiq Khan

Starmer will – for now at least – stand by his statement last week, calling for “humanitarian pauses” to allow aid distribution and civilian evacuations, but not an outright ceasefire. He’ll argue that would be a gift for Hamas. It is essentially the same position Rishi has taken…

The Q&A session after the speech should be the one to watch. Popcorn at the ready…

mdi-timer 31 October 2023 @ 09:01 31 Oct 2023 @ 09:01 mdi-twitter mdi-facebook mdi-whatsapp mdi-telegram mdi-linkedin mdi-email mdi-comment View Comments
Burnham Claims It Is “Simply Not Possible” for Labour to Agree on Israel-Hamas

The Starmer-Burnham peace treaty lasted a grand total of 19 days. This morning Burnham has written in The Independent to warn Sir Keir it is “simply not possible” for Labour to have a clear position on the Israel-Hamas war, and insist it is actually “healthy” for “different views” to be aired. A total ceasefire would certainly be “healthy” for the Hamas terrorists who would regroup and launch a thousand more rockets across the border….

Burnham said this morning:

“In times like this, it is simply not possible quickly to arrive at a clear party line. People will have different views and it is healthy for those views to be aired… MPs’ feelings will change daily as they react to events, balance views of constituents and try to formulate a settled view. Let’s not brand them as disloyal or as if they don’t care about innocent lives.”

MPs feelings will change daily as they react to events” reads like a disclaimer that should be tattooed on the heads of half the MPs in Westminster. Meanwhile LOTO is sitting on its hands over the growing rebellion, with frontbencher Peter Kyle saying yesterday it is unlikely those who call for a ceasefire will be sacked. A real test of Starmer’s mettle… 

mdi-timer 30 October 2023 @ 12:46 30 Oct 2023 @ 12:46 mdi-twitter mdi-facebook mdi-whatsapp mdi-telegram mdi-linkedin mdi-email mdi-comment View Comments
Andy Burnham Finally Makes Up with Keir Starmer, Ends Briefing War

Andy Burnham says he’s finally made up with Keir Starmer after a year-long briefing war over the prize of the Labour leadership. Speaking to The Guardian today, Burnham admitted his relationship with the Labour leader was in a bad place “last year“, and seems to suggest it was Sue Gray who acted as marriage counsellor:

“I think we’re in a good place. We’re meeting, we’re working together. There’s a much better, I would say, working relationship than let’s say this time last year. I’m just going to be honest about that and I appreciate it. And it’s been led by Keir. Sue Gray is making a real, genuine difference…”

Gray must be a relationship guru, because Burnham was complaining about LOTO’s negative briefings just two months ago, and admitting he still fancied a tilt at the leadership himself. Now Starmer’s position is secure, there’s no point trying to nick his job…

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Burnham Stresses Labour Has “Commitments” to HS2 in Full
mdi-timer 24 September 2023 @ 12:20 24 Sep 2023 @ 12:20 mdi-twitter mdi-facebook mdi-whatsapp mdi-telegram mdi-linkedin mdi-email mdi-comment View Comments
Burnham Admits He’d Consider Standing for Labour Leadership Again

Andy Burnham has said the quiet part out loud and admitted he’s mulling a return to Westminster. Speaking up at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this afternoon, Burnham conceded he’d have a third go at the Labour leadership if a vacancy were to somehow arise, and “one last go” as an MP is on the cards:

“If a path opens up in time then, of course, I’m not going to turn away from that… I think there potentially is one last go at Westminster somewhere. But I want to be clear about this – I would only be going back to enact what I’ve talked about today.”

He also stressed that Labour “needs to show how it can bring hope“, and most of his contact with the current leadership team is now through “reading briefings about [him] in the newspapers”. So even if he does return to SW1, it doesn’t look like he’ll join Starmer’s front bench in a hurry…

mdi-timer 22 August 2023 @ 16:57 22 Aug 2023 @ 16:57 mdi-twitter mdi-facebook mdi-whatsapp mdi-telegram mdi-linkedin mdi-email mdi-comment View Comments
Qat-ari Got Your Tongue, Andy?
When Andy Burnham isn’t busy being annoyed by his own leadership manoeuvring against Sir Softie, he can usually be found promoting himself via the favourite medium of all tragic middle-aged lefties: football. This weekend he celebrated the first all-Manchester FA cup final – which will see Manchester United take on Manchester City – while offering a number of other football-related reflections. Last week he personally flew to Rome to deliver a signed Manchester United shirt to the PopeAll in a day’s work for Manchester’s Mayor… 
 
Burnham remains silent, however, on the number one football issue in his own patch: the impending Qatari takeover of Manchester United. Guido’s football insiders say that the deadline for bids is the end of this week, and that the attempt by Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani to buy the club outright could lead to effective Qatari state control of the club before the end of the season – reportedly causing consternation at DCMS. No surprise that a group of the fans Burnham is so keen to champion asked him this month to condemn the Qatari bid due to the country’s extensive human rights abuses:

“We’re all appalled at the idea of our club being used to sportswash a country where homosexuality is criminalised, women need a man’s permission to have a smear test, and migrant workers are treated like dirt… Andy Burnham has recently spoken (in the Guardian) about the need to reckon with Manchester’s historical links to slavery via the cotton trade. Right now in Qatar, migrant workers are subject to horrific exploitation, and thousands died building the World Cup stadiums. It’s no good talking about the past if you don’t take action in the present.”

Much like woke pundit and Starmer cheerleader Gary Neville, despite his high volume of football-focused output, Burnham appears to have so far remained silent on the matter. It’s another case of Qat-ari got your tongue…

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