Louise Haigh has accused allies of Keir Starmer of briefing 'consistently and viciously' against her after she resigned as transport secretary. Speaking to the BBC's Nick Robinson, Haigh said she was a victim of a 'cabal of men mistreating women' who also targeted cabinet colleagues Lisa Nandy, Bridget Phillipson, and Angela Rayner, as well as Starmer's former chief of staff Sue Gray.
Haigh's departure and claims
Haigh was sacked from the cabinet after it emerged she had pleaded guilty to fraudulently reporting a lost mobile phone as stolen in 2013. She says she had told Starmer about this several years before being sacked. 'Both Morgan [McSweeney] and [Starmer] kept saying 'well, additional information has emerged', but at no point would any of them tell me what that additional information was,' she said. 'To pretend that I hadn't told him and to brief so consistently and so viciously for quite a number of weeks after that was a deliberate attempt to knock my character down.'
Culture of 'boys' club'
Haigh criticised the 'boys' club' culture in No 10 under Starmer and McSweeney. 'I certainly would take Bridget and Lisa's word for it. I mean, they have both been, as have I, obviously, victims of incredibly sexist and unpleasant briefing in the press. Angela has. The way Sue Gray was treated was absolutely disgraceful,' she said. 'The idea that there wasn't a cabal of men that were deliberately mistreating women around the government is just fanciful.' Downing Street has been contacted for comment.
Role in Burnham's campaign
Haigh helped mastermind Andy Burnham's likely ascent to power, with the former Greater Manchester mayor expected to be confirmed as prime minister in days. She persuaded many colleagues to back Burnham as Starmer's successor and ran his campaign for the Makerfield byelection. Haigh is tipped for a cabinet job in Burnham's government, but told Robinson it would not be as chancellor.
Economic policy views
Haigh accepted that the government would not pursue her idea of splitting up the Treasury in this parliament, saying 'it would just drag everything down and be a huge distraction.' However, she argued for a more powerful economic unit within No 10 that could push back on decisions by the chancellor. 'There needs to be a proper beefed up economic unit in Number 10 that both the prime minister and the chancellor have access to, and that can give the prime minister a full suite of advice when they're making these huge decisions that affect the country,' she said.
