Knowsley MP Anneliese Midgley has appeared in an interview with British Vogue today, Friday, expressing her support for Prime Minister Andy Burnham. The chief whip spoke about her unconventional political journey and commitment to working-class solidarity.
In British Vogue’s December issue, Ms Midgley opened up about her working-class upbringing in Merseyside and her determination to bring a different approach to politics under Mr Burnham.
Labour’s recovery under Burnham
The 50-year-old MP said it was clear that "the Labour Party needed to be saved" after the party suffered a slump in the polls just two years after Keir Starmer led Labour to its biggest general election victory since 1997.
She said the Labour Party "is quite like paradise at the moment" under Mr Burnham’s leadership. She said: "Cabinet feels very much like a team and everyone’s pulling together." Reinforcing her fierce loyalty to the Prime Minister, she added: "I would run through walls for him."
Addressing voter disillusionment
She also addressed the danger of causing political disillusionment for voters. Voters were notably frustrated when previous promises made by the party were stalled or reversed.
Ms Midgley said: "We’d stood on a manifesto of change and then got in saying there couldn’t be that change, the constraints were too tough. After a couple of years, people came away thinking, ‘Well, what is happening for us? We’re just more skint’."
A pastoral approach to party discipline
With her approach to maintaining party discipline, the MP prefers an almost pastoral strategy over traditional strong-arming tactics. She said: "People don’t talk about kindness enough in politics."
"You do that by having those discussions with people and bringing them with you. Being in touch constantly, making them feel respected, not just bringing people into the office when they’re going to be told off."
"I’m not going to go into any of the dark arts or tactics for Vogue readers, unfortunately."
Vogue described Ms Midgley as embodying "a particular brand of confident Scouse grit that’s familiar to anybody with a northern mam".
Working-class roots in Merseyside
Reflecting on her working-class roots from growing up on a Merseyside estate, Ms Midgley defined what her national identity meant to her. She added: "An Englishness that is about solidarity, dignity and equality – one that built the trade union movement."
The MP grew up in Stocksbridge Village, formerly known as Cantril Farm. Built in the mid-60s, it was a council estate to rehouse around 15,000 people from the slum clearances of parts of Liverpool.
She told British Vogue: "Apparently, it was the roughest estate in western Europe…It was dubbed Cannibal Farm. It wasn’t all roses – things went down there. But we all looked after each other and made sure that people weren’t going without the essentials."
The full interview is available online and will be in the December issue of British Vogue, available to buy on newsstands from November 17.
