ANDY Burnham has been blasted for “embedding” scandal-hit Labour Together in his leadership campaign after accepting more than £200,000 from the shadowy think tank and donors linked to it.
The Prime Minister’s register of interests published this week shows he took more than £22,000 from ThinkLabour – the new name of Labour Together – in July for IT and staffing equipment as well as £189,000 from two of the organisation's biggest historical donors.
Burnham accepted £164,000 from billionaire businessman and long-standing Labour donor Lord Sainsbury of Turville, largely towards his leadership campaign, and another £25,000 from Gary Lubner – one of the biggest donors to Labour Together and Starmer's Labour from 2021.
Labour Together became embroiled in scandal last year after it emerged it had hired a PR firm Apco to probe the backgrounds and personal lives of journalists who had revealed the think tank had failed to properly declare £700,000 in donations to the Electoral Commission.
One of those targeted was independent journalist Paul Holden, who had told The National previously about the “extraordinary anxiety” the think tank and Apco inflicted on his family.
Holden, who wants to see a full inquiry launched into Labour Together, said Burnham accepting these donations shows “serious issues” with his judgement and suggests the think tank could have "lots of influence" over his government.
“Andy Burnham's register of interests […] make for very dispiriting reading,” he said on Twitter/X.
“They will do little to dispel fears he is simply a continuity Labour Together/Starmer candidate and I think they raise serious issues with his judgment.
“He should have sought funding and support from other sources not so closely associated with Labour Together. I'm sure he could have raised money from other sources.
“Many of his MPs and the Speaker of the House have called for an inquiry into Labour Together and Apco Worldwide. Will Burnham agree to institute an inquiry into Labour Together now if he's funded by the think-tank and its biggest donors?
“It also suggests ThinkLabour might have lots of influence over Burnham's government. That will mean some form of re-heated marketing and polling driven strategy that is basically Blue Labour with a smile. That's not good enough for our moment of polycrises and I really don't it is sufficient to beat Reform. Deeply disappointing.”
Labour Together was credited with propelling Keir Starmer to power when it was ran by his former chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, between 2017 and 2020.
There are several key Labour Together figures in Burnham's government including Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting, Education Secretary Lucy Powell, Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy
Josh Simons, who ran Labour Together at the time of the scandal, stepped down as a minister as details emerged and later resigned as an MP to allow Burnham to stand in the Makerfield by-election.
In emails seen by The Guardian, Simons and his chief of staff at the think tank, Ben Szreter, told the National Cyber Security Centre they suspected the Sunday Times article on the donations may be linked to a wider “co-ordinated effort to discredit” Labour Together.
They also passed on highly personal information about Holden, a freelance reporter who was credited in the Sunday Times report, adding that material published by the paper may be linked to “people known to be operating in a pro-Kremlin propaganda network with links to Russian intelligence”. There is no credible evidence of this.
Burnham received donations and support worth more than £325,000 in the three months before he entered No 10.
Labour Party grandee Lord Blunkett and former Greater Manchester night-time economy tsar Sacha Lord were also among those who financially backed the Prime Minister between May and July.
In his former role as Greater Manchester mayor, Burnham also accepted two tickets worth £3800 to attend the Brit Awards from Sony Music Entertainment and four tickets to Glastonbury, where he was speaking last year.
The register further shows that Burnham and his wife own a property in London which is rented out.
