Andy Burnham's decision to appoint James Purnell as his chief of staff should he become prime minister will reunite two key figures from the famous Demon Eyes football team, a squad formed in the late 1990s by New Labour advisers. The team, which included former shadow chancellor Ed Balls and former foreign secretary David Miliband, was known for its fierce competitiveness and political discussions in the dressing room.
Reuniting Old Teammates
The Demon Eyes team was originally created in 1998 by Purnell and Tim Allan, who later became Keir Starmer's director of communications. Early members included Purnell, Allan, Miliband, Balls, and journalists David Goodhart and Liam Halligan. Other prominent New Labour figures involved were Philip Collins, Ed Richards, and Dan Corry. The team's name came from a Conservative attack poster depicting Tony Blair with demonic red eyes.
Patrick Hennessy, a former Labour adviser and captain of a rival team, described Burnham as "technically a good player, a fast attacker with good finishing." Of Purnell, he said: "James was a decent centre-back – he wasn't the most physical, but he was very, very dogged." Hennessy added: "The main thing about the team is it was very, very competitive. You knew when you were playing against them it was going to be a hard match – they were determined to win."
From Pitch to Government
One former teammate noted the parallel between their playing positions and future roles: Purnell as a determined defender, Burnham as an attention-seeking attacker. The team played home matches in north London and was known for its will to win, blokeish repartee, and unusual conversation topics. "It is the only football team I've been in where the chat in the changing rooms was all about politics," said one former player. "Eventually though that was diluted a bit when we had to recruit some non-Blairites in an effort to get people who could actually play football."
Another former player likened the team to Gareth Southgate's England or Mikel Arteta's Arsenal, built around a solid defence. Tony Blair embraced football as a cultural sign of Britain's growing soft power, though he was not as steeped in it as younger colleagues. Keir Starmer, an Arsenal supporter, is perhaps the most committed football fan to become prime minister, but he has always preferred playing with a small group of non-political friends.
Concerns Over New Talent
Once Burnham became a senior Labour MP and Purnell worked at the BBC, a younger generation came through, including current justice minister Jake Richards. However, some worry that the party's top level is still dominated by those who came through the Blairite system together. "Thirty years on we are still talking about that one team," said one former player. "You would have thought we might have moved on by now."
