Andy Burnham will change a “boys club” culture of factional briefings at No 10 which silenced critics, according to the deputy leader of the Labour party.
Lucy Powell said she had experienced “unpleasant” briefings in Downing Street, which left people afraid to speak out or challenge Downing Street’s position.
The briefings had affected people’s ability to do their jobs, she added. “It created more of a culture of not feeling that you could speak out on things […] for fear of giving you a black mark against your name. That is the culture and the atmosphere that we really need to address.”
Powell felt briefings against female figures in the Cabinet in particular – including against herself, the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, and the foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper – were evidence of a “boys club” at the top of government.
“There was very clearly a pattern over time of anonymous nasty briefings against colleagues being disproportionately meted out to women,” she said. “But there was also a culture that became very factional, and appointments being made on the basis of which faction or which friendship group you were in […] It was not a meritocracy in any sense and not a broad church.”
She felt that the culture in No 10 had improved in recent months under senior Labour women, and vowed to continue to push for a “meritocracy [where] appointments are made in a more open way based on people’s passions, experiences and contributions”.
Burnham said this week that he would sack any staff who briefed against or undermined women in his team. The Makerfield MP told members of the women’s parliamentary Labour party: “I want to make it clear that if anyone in my team was found to have done that [negative briefing] they would be out of the door. Their feet wouldn’t touch the floor.”
Asked if she thought No 10 culture would be different under Burnham, she said: “I do – how is something we’ll all need to help with, and be part of.” Powell’s intervention comes after figures on the left of the Labour party accused Starmer and his allies of overseeing a “purge” of dissident views that created a “culture of fear” and called on Burnham to listen to formerly marginalised figures.
The former mayor of Greater Manchester – who is expected to become prime minister later this month – is facing pressure to appoint a high number of female cabinet ministers, especially if he replaces Rachel Reeves with a man in the Treasury. His chief of staff will be his close friend and former cabinet minister James Purnell, a role that is now shared by two women – Vidhya Alakeson and Jill Cuthbertson. Labour’s female MPs wrote to Burnham before the meeting to ask him to commit to a 50/50 gender split for ministers and staff.
Powell said she would not tell Burnham who should be in his cabinet, but said “better decisions” were made when there was more diversity at the top table.
“All of us are very keen to ensure that there is diversity of opinion and representation of all the different traditions of the party and country as well as obviously making sure that we’ve got strong voices from women at the top of the party,” she said. “I’m sure Andy will have all of those things in mind.”
On Wednesday, the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, accused Labour women of “moaning” and said they should contest for leadership of the party. “If none of Labour’s women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless,” she wrote in the Times.
But Powell said a debate about plurality was “not about quotas” but “ensuring that we are thinking about all of these things”.
“I think women can often be a bit shy about pushing themselves forward in the Labour party,” she said. “Sometimes the blokes are a bit better at advancing their own causes, so it’s just about making sure that we’re listening to the quiet voices too.”
Asked whether the British electorate was likely to see this debate as an example of the Labour party focused on itself rather than the country, she said a culture that included differing views produced better policy and national outcomes.
“It’s definitely not about being all things to all people,” she said. “This is about clear leadership, clear direction, clear purpose and narrative, within a context where difference is respected and opinions are valued and heard. That’s what good leadership looks like.”
