If Angela Rayner doesn’t get what she wants, Andy Burnham might regret it (Image: Getty)
Labour has a longstanding woman problem. It’s supposed to be the party of feminists and fairness, yet when it comes to the crunch, it’s still a blokes’ club. Remember when Tony Blair became PM in 1997 and posed with his newly elected female MPs? They were cringingly dubbed Blair’s Babes. Since then Labour has produced a succession of male leaders: Gordon Brown, Ed Miliband, Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer. And they all surrounded themselves with like-minded blokes.
By contrast, those supposedly sexist Tories have served up four female leaders: Margaret Thatcher, Theresa May, Liz Truss and now Kemi Badenoch. They’ve also produced Britain’s first British Asian prime minister in Rishi Sunak, while Badenoch is black. Labour’s next leader looks set to be another pale and stale white male. And, just like his predecessors, Burnham already has a woman problem. Not only has he seized the top job without a woman getting a look in, he’s reportedly lining up cabinet jobs for his old mates. Let’s call them Burnham’s Bros. That’s terrible news for Angela Rayner, who must be spitting blood.
Senior Labour MPs are scrambling for places in Burnham’s cabinet. Starmer’s two big female stars, Rayner and chancellor Rachel Reeves, appear to have been shunted aside. That’s a real blow for Red Ange, a force in the party. Just a few weeks ago, there was talk of a Burnham and Rayner combining forces to form a Northern dream team and sweep Starmer out of office. Now it’s just Andy. Which can’t be nice for Angela.
Burnham has plenty of competing egos to satisfy. Louise Haigh, forced to resign from Starmer’s cabinet after her fraud conviction, expects a return after driving Burnham’s leadership bid. Culture secretary Lisa Nandy and MP Annalise Midgley also want their rewards. Plenty of blokes are lining up too.Most Popular
Burnham has to keep Ed Miliband happy, and the only way to do that is to make him chancellor. Which will make the country unhappy. Apparently, one Miliband isn’t enough for Burnham. He’s now considering bringing Ed’s older brother David Miliband back as foreign secretary. Soon there could be more Milibands than women holding the great offices of state. Not a great look.
One woman does appear nailed on. Home secretary Shabana Mahmood is too competent to ignore, even if she is a woman. But then what does Burnham do with Yvette Cooper? She’s done a solid job as foreign secretary. Apparently, the Yanks like her.
Burnham is said to have been shocked by the “transactional” way MPs are bargaining over jobs. He’s got no right to be sniffy, given how he shoved Starmer out of the way. That’s politics. Rachel Reeves looks destined for the chop. But how does Burnham keep Mahmood, Cooper, Haigh, Nandy and Midgley happy without provoking Rayner or getting labelled as yet another sexist Labour bloke?
Rayner is reportedly lowering her sights and would settle for her old housing secretary brief. Her speech this week was pure Manchesterism. She was practically begging for a place in Burnham’s team. If she doesn’t get it, Burnham will create a bitter enemy on the back benches and a focus for disgruntled MPs.
If Rayner feels stabbed in the back, Burnham had better watch out. She knows how to wield the stiletto herself.