On 10 September 2024, veteran leftwing MP Jon Trickett prepared to vote against his own government's plan to remove the winter fuel allowance from some retirees, a benefit long seen as essential by many UK households. Senior figures warned him he would be the only Labour MP to do so. He said this week: "I said: 'I don't give a fuck. I'm going to do what I believe is the right thing.' And I was right." That policy has since been seen as a misstep from which Keir Starmer's government never recovered. Trickett could be forgiven for schadenfreude after Starmer's resignation this week, just two years after a landslide election victory.
Starmer's Purge and the Left's Disillusionment
Trickett does not indulge, despite blaming Starmer's "purging" of the left for Labour voters turning to populists. "Starmer and his allies turned their backs on the left and the working classes and those people are now turning to others," he said. "I hope this can be a moment where we can recover the sense that Labour is a party for social justice so those voters can come back." Like many comrades, Trickett now looks to Andy Burnham, Starmer's likely successor, to see if marginalised leftist ideas may get a hearing again. For some, the Starmer experience has created deep anxiety about being disappointed again.
Burnham's 'Manchesterism' and Leftist Hopes
Burnham, a former cabinet minister who returned to Westminster as an MP on Monday after nine years as mayor of Greater Manchester, talks of "business-friendly socialism" and expanding his vision nationwide. His approach, called "Manchesterism," includes bringing essential assets like water and energy under greater public control, closer state-business partnership to spread wealth, and huge devolution expansion. This has enthused some on the left. But bruised socialists remember Starmer's early days, when he presented himself as a continuity candidate to Jeremy Corbyn, making 10 left-pleasing pledges from public ownership to ending tuition fees. Clive Lewis, a leftwing MP, still has them on his wall. "The 10 pledges were basically Starmer saying, 'Look, I'm Corbyn in a suit, Corbyn without the baggage,'" he said. "But when you read them back now they are a bit of a cliche."
From Pledges to Purges
After Starmer became leader, the pledges were "adapted" for electability, then dropped. By end of 2020, Corbyn had been suspended from the party. A crackdown on antisemitism saw many leftwingers suspended. "People were annoyed about the pledges, but the thing that really upset them was the purging and alienation of progressives which created a culture of fear," said Lewis. "Many people were thrown out for little or no reason whatsoever. It was a mass expulsion." On Gaza, Starmer's early stance also alienated many. Soon after Hamas's attack in October 2023, he said Israel had "the right" to withhold power and water from Gaza, before backing a ceasefire in February 2024. When councillors left, a senior Labour source said it was a sign of "shaking off the fleas."
Burnham's Cabinet Choices Raise Concerns
Questions arise about how radical the shift from Starmer to Burnham could be. Multiple leftwingers are cautiously optimistic. Several point to a blueprint for "Manchesterism" by Mathew Lawrence, close to Burnham. "If you read that essay you think 'fantastic stuff,'" said Aaron Bastani, co-founder of Novara Media. "But it's not just about the motifs, it's about who's in the cabinet." Burnham's pick for chancellor is seen as a binary choice: Ed Miliband, expected to take an interventionist approach, versus a right-wing figure like Wes Streeting. Several figures in Burnham's machine raise eyebrows, including former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane and former Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O'Neill. James Purnell, a former Blairite cabinet minister who led a lobbying advisory firm counting BP, Amazon, Jaguar Land Rover, and Uber among clients, will become chief of staff. Some leftists wince at Josh Simons, who gave up his seat for Burnham and previously ran Labour Together, called "a vehicle to take control of the party and destroy the left."
Cautious Optimism Amid Red Flags
"I think the left would be wise to be very wary given these names," said one veteran. "Those hires are huge red flags." Leftwing MP Nadia Whittome expressed disappointment at the likely lack of a leadership contest. Some want Burnham to take a stronger stance on Gaza or oppose Donald Trump more directly. But his talk of the "end of neoliberalism" and appetite for a muscular state is welcome, said Andy McDonald, who served in Corbyn's shadow cabinet. "You could worry yourself into a grave, but let's hear what he has to say first," he said. "The signs are really good and there's cause for optimism." In an interview with the Guardian before his return, Burnham said some leftwingers should never have been kicked out, though it had "gone beyond" the time Corbyn could be welcomed back. "I've always been a Labour politician that's about unifying people, trying to be positive and working together," he said. For Lewis, the left is back in the tent. "It feels like the boot has been lifted off our throat and we can organise again," he said. "And I think if you look at where we are electorally, our ideas are going to play a part."
