Andy Burnham has said he will end the culture of briefing against female ministers, promising Labour MPs he will sack any staff who undermine women in his team. Speaking at a meeting of the women’s parliamentary Labour party in Westminster, Burnham also strongly criticised descriptions of him as “the first female Labour PM” in the Spectator magazine.
Burnham's pledge to change culture
Senior women under Keir Starmer have complained of a “boys’ club” culture, despite Starmer hiring multiple women to his team and making Rachel Reeves the first female chancellor. But MPs felt female ministers had a disproportionate number of negative stories leaked about them, including the former transport secretary turned Burnham adviser, Louise Haigh, as well as the foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, and the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson.
Burnham told MPs at the meeting: “Culture really does matter and we need to change that culture. I want to make it clear that if anyone in my team was found to have done that [negative briefing] they would be out of the door. Their feet wouldn’t touch the floor. And I want to put on record that I never have and never will describe myself as the first female Labour PM.”
Criticism of 'first female PM' label
Labour has never elected a female leader and Labour MPs were irritated at the description by a senior Labour figure quoted in the Spectator, who said Burnham could be the “first woman prime minister” because he cared about an “unashamedly female agenda” including health, education and family finances, rather than “budgets and bombs”.
MPs said that when Burnham was asked at the meeting about asylum policy he praised the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, as well as plans for jury trial changes which some abuse survivors have opposed, though the Ministry of Justice has said it will speed up cases for victims.
Pressure for gender balance in cabinet
Burnham is likely to face pressure to appoint a high number of female cabinet ministers, especially if he removes Reeves as chancellor and replaces her with a man. His chief of staff will be his close friend and former cabinet minister James Purnell. The role under Starmer is shared by two women: Vidhya Alakeson and Jill Cuthbertson.
Some of Burnham’s closest allies and organisers during his election campaign and in Westminster are women, including Haigh and the Knowsley MP, Anneliese Midgley, who will both likely get senior roles. Female MPs who have supported Burnham were also enraged at being described as “handmaidens” by the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, on Monday. Midgley posted on X: “Stay classy Kemi,” in response.
Demands for 50/50 gender split
Labour’s female MPs had written to Burnham before the meeting to ask him to commit to a 50/50 gender split for ministers and staff. The letter, first reported by LBC, said he should commit to giving the role of deputy prime minister to a woman. “Rooms where decisions are being made are often closed to us, leading to blind spots in appointment decisions and policy development. The tendency of previous leaderships to sideline the voices of women makes us a weaker government,” the letter read.
It added that the group had repeatedly “raised concerns about structural misogyny, the culture in No 10, bullying behaviour being rewarded, sexual harassment being ignored and engagement with both the party and the PLP [parliamentary Labour party] being inadequate”.
