‘Profound change’ or ‘nonsense’? – Beth, Harriet and Ruth debate Burnham’s blueprint to keep Labour MPs onside | Politics News

Labour grandee Harriet Harman has said she believes Andy Burnham will bring about “profound change” to the Labour Party.

Baroness Harman praised Burnham for saying he will reach out more to the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), attending their weekly meetings and voting alongside Labour MPs in parliament.

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She also backed Burnham’s claim that he will require ministers to engage with Labour MPs more, and to use the whipping system as more like a HR department rather than to “punish” MPs.

But speaking to our political editor Beth Rigby on Sky’s Electoral Dysfunction podcast, former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson called Burnham’s plans “absolute vapid bollocks”.

Baroness Harman, who was deputy Labour leader from 2007 to 2015, said Burnham has “got this different organism now, which is not just ministers sitting in their departments and him sitting in Number 10 and issuing edicts from the whips, but a kind of bottom-up thing from MPs’ constituencies right through to Number 10 and him as prime minister, because he’ll be mingling with them on a regular basis”.

“And I cannot tell you how different that is from how things work currently,” she added.

Baroness Davidson, however, was sceptical that Burnham would attend a meeting of the PLP every week.

She said that if Burnham attends the PLP more than once every three months it would be “nonsense”.

She criticised “the idea that he’s gonna stay home and do that instead of go to the G7 or NATO”.

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‘Deeply grateful’ Burnham one MP away from victory

Burnham received 322 nominations to become Labour leader on Thursday, with nominations open until Wednesday.

He’s expected to become Labour leader on 17 July, and prime minister on 20 July.

Baroness Harman added that while a lot of Labour MPs “wish we weren’t here and it had worked out better for Starmer”, most are “really, really happy” about Burnham likely becoming leader.

But, she said there were still “tough choices” that Burnham would have to make, such as on welfare reform.

It was the discontent of many Labour MPs over Starmer’s attempt to reduce the welfare bill that some have cited as the beginning of his leadership troubles, which ended with his resignation last month.

Burnham has said he will devolve more power to mayors to help people get back into work, which he hopes will reduce the benefits bill.

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