Burnham’s ‘black box’ plans for cabinet send Westminster into hysteria

Andy Burnham has given precious little away about his plans for government since winning the backing of Labour MPs. Photograph: Toby Shepheard/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Andy Burnham has given precious little away about his plans for government since winning the backing of Labour MPs. Photograph: Toby Shepheard/AFP/Getty Images Analysis Burnham’s ‘black box’ plans for cabinet send Westminster into hysteria Jessica Elgot Deputy political editor Few know who will get top jobs when new PM enters No 10 and the vacuum of information has its downsides As Labour MPs filed out of Portcullis House on the last day before parliament rose – and Andy Burnham ascends – one said they were struggling with a metaphor for how concentrated Burnham’s power had become. Flailing for something that did not sound insulting, he gave up and likened Burnham’s absolute control to North Korea’s Kim dynasty. It is a very congenial and receptive kind of dictatorship. But never in British politics has such power been concentrated in the hands of such a tiny number of individuals. Never in British politics have so many of Labour’s biggest beasts had so little influence or leverage. No cabinet minister or rival leadership candidate has any card to play in their deck to cajole or threaten Andy Burnham into giving them a role. All they can do is wait. Burnham’s plans are sealed inside what MPs call “the black box”. Inside the “box” is Burnham, his close confidante Louise Haigh and his new chief of staff and old cabinet colleague James Purnell. 10:20 How would PM-in-waiting Andy Burnham change Britain? | The Latest If you are a plugged-in cabinet minister or a supportive MP – but you are outside the black box – you can hear rumours, you can have opinions, you can make educated guesses and you can talk directly to that triumvirate to try to understand their thinking. But they do not know for sure. Even some of Burnham’s closest staffers and parliamentary friends are out the loop. It is sending most of Westminster into a state of near hysterical paranoia. Wes Streeting , who thought he could be prime minister a few weeks ago, openly joked at a recent summer drinks reception about a sponsorship banner that advertised retirement planning. There is no guarantee whether key figures of the soft-left, Angela Rayner, Ed Miliband and Lucy Powell, will get the roles that they covet. Burnham and Haigh have deployed this strategy once before – when the stakes were last at their highest – as Burnham sought a seat for a byelection. At that time, the rumour mill about who would step down was wild – Andrew Gwynne , Jim McMahon, even Powell. But when it came to the crunch, as Streeting looked as if he might trigger a contest , the WhatsApp groups went silent. Some of Burnham’s closest friends in parliament and outside admitted they had been cut out. When Josh Simons stood down in Makerfield, it came as a surprise even though it had been a possibility for some time. That does not mean t