Tag Archives: andy burnham

“Drop The Bill” petition gets debate despite MPs’ attempts to block it

8:46am Fri March 9th

The 170,000-signature petition against the Health Bill will be debated in Parliament next Tuesday – two weeks after MPs refused to allocate it time. Despite huge backing for the online appeal, the Backbench Business Committee attempted to block discussion in the Commons despite having 70% more signatures than is required.

Secured under pressure from Andy Burnham, the debate will be seen as the final attempt to delay the legislation, expected to reach the statute book by 20 March. The poorly-drafted bill is one of the most amended in history, with government Lords forced into making yet more concessions yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Lib Dems have their work cut out trying to crush the revolt against Lansley’s reforms at their conference in Gateshead.

Andy Burnham's campaign revisionism

10:23am Thu September 23rd

2 comments

Having dispensed with Abbott and Balls, LabourList’s look back at the various leadership campaigns turned to Andy Burnham yesterday. Mark Ferguson writes that Burnham seemed to gain momentum after a slow start. Indeed, the talented and likeable former Health Secretary seemed trapped by his ”northern candidate” status:

“Actually my pitch hasn’t been that I’m from the north … People just choose to hook me in that bracket because of my accent.” – Andy Burnham, Progress Magazine, September 2010

Poor, Andy. How dare those metropolitan Guardianistas pigeon-hole his campaign! But as this humble correspondent observed in a short post for Total Politics, this was actually a problem of his own design. In the TV interview which launched his leadership bid in earnest, Burnham said:

“My background is different. As people can probably hear I come from a different part of the country.” – Andy Burnham, Andrew Marr Show, May 2010

Scrapbook looks forward to seeing Burnham meet a new challenge at the despatch box shortly.

Andy Burnham pulls biggest crowd for campaign launch

6:46pm Wed May 26th

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From the looks of things at least one stand at Leigh Sports Village is pretty full for Burnham’s home-turf launch.

They’re spinning 500 people.

David Miliband to launch new leadership website this afternoon

2:58pm Wed May 26th

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David Miliband has pulled his temporary campaign site (image) in preparation for the official unveiling of davidmiliband.net this afternoon. Labour blogger Tom Harris will chair the launch with the older Milibrother giving a short speech and Q&A (cue briefings to PR Week that this will be the ellusive “internet election”).

As for the site design, perhaps he will follow the lead of Andy Burnham, winning over the ladies of the Labour movement with an 80s-crooner/teen idol cheesy grin?

Or maybe he will resurect the spirit of Labour’s mid-90s iconoclasm with a website that, erm, looks like it’s from 1994? Over to John McDonnell, whose john4leader.org.uk website was last updated 12 weeks ago when Gordon Brown was still Prime Minister:

We’ll have to wait and see.

Sky reveals top-10 hottest MPs in 'poll of polls'

1:32pm Fri February 12th

26 comments

It must be Friday: Sky have published their top-10 “hottest MPs” based on polling from the previous four years (alas without pictures). Burnham and Flint fly the flag for Labour but the eleven finalists (including tied placed) include six Tories and three Lib Dems.

A former council leader’s description of John Prescott as “divinely sexy” impressed upon Scrapbook that politico crushes are a most subjective matter indeed. Has your favourite MP been missed off or otherwise underappreciated? Whose appearance in a Westminster Hall debate would leave you glued to BBC Parliament way past your bedtime?

Reveal your guilty secrets in the comments!

=10: Justine Greening (Con)

=10: Ed Vaizey (Con)

9: Theresa May (Con)

=7: Andy Burnham (Lab)

=7: Jeremy Hunt (Con)

6: Nick Clegg (LD)

5: Julia Goldsworthy (LD)

4: Adam Afriyie (Con)

3: Julie Kirkbride (Con)

2: Caroline Flint (Lab)

1: Lynne Featherstone (LD)

Daniel Hannan given plum European role by Cameron

3:50pm Fri September 4th

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After attacks on the NHS and other gaffes which saw CCHQ scrambling to defend their de-toxified brand the Tories have now promoted Daniel Hannan to their European front bench as spokesman for legal affairs. Andy Burnham is leading the charge:

“Will the real David Cameron please stand up?”

He goes on:

David Cameron is happy to deride Tory MEP Daniel Hannan in front of the cameras and claim that his views are not the true face of the Tory Party. But privately Cameron rewards Hannan for his attacks on the NHS with a plum job on his frontbench in the European Parliament.

This presumably puts an end to his little holidays pandering to Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and the rest of the American right wing media.

Have the Cameroons moved to gag Hannan with a new job?