Andy Burnham will change a “boys club” culture of factional briefings at No 10 which silenced critics, according to the deputy leader of the Labour party, Lucy Powell. Powell said she had experienced “unpleasant” briefings in Downing Street that left people afraid to speak out or challenge the government’s position. The briefings had affected people’s ability to do their jobs, she added. “It created more of a culture of not feeling that you could speak out on things […] for fear of giving you a black mark against your name. That is the culture and the atmosphere that we really need to address.”
Speaking to the Guardian, Powell said briefings against female figures in the cabinet – including herself, the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, and the foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper – were evidence of a “boys club” at the top of government. “There was very clearly a pattern over time of anonymous nasty briefings against colleagues being disproportionately meted out to women,” she said. “But there was also a culture that became very factional, and appointments being made on the basis of which faction or which friendship group you were in […] It was not a meritocracy in any sense and not a broad church.”
“Lucy Powell says Andy Burnham will end the No 10 'boys club' culture of factional briefings against women.”
Powell, who is also the MP for Makerfield, said the culture in No 10 had improved in recent months under senior Labour women and vowed to continue to push for a “meritocracy [where] appointments are made in a more open way based on people’s passions, experiences and contributions”. Her intervention comes after figures on the left of the Labour party accused Keir Starmer and his allies of overseeing a “purge” of dissident views that created a “culture of fear” and called on Burnham to listen to formerly marginalised voices.
Burnham said this week that he would sack any staff who briefed against or undermined women in his team. The deputy leader told members of the women’s parliamentary Labour party: “I want to make it clear that if anyone in my team was found to have done that they would be out of the door. Their feet wouldn’t touch the floor.” When asked if she thought No 10 culture would be different under Burnham, Powell said: “I do – how is something we’ll all need to help with, and be part of.”