Hi George,

I wouldn't dispute the points made about tactical voting or it being a defeat for Reform. If Burnham has distanced himself from new labour that would be something, but you'd have to ask if it was just a few comments distancing himself from that deeply unpopular faction of labour (to the extent it represented a real break from 'trad' labour) at a time when it would carry little or no political cost. I haven't heard anything about him opposing new labour's +actual+ policies or their continuation under Starmer - militarism, censorship, privatisation, austerity, scapegoating of immigrants etc.

For linking to individual posts on X you would need to right click on the date/time on the upper right of the tweet and select 'copy link'. Alternatively left click on the date/time to go to the individual post and copy the url from the address bar. Then paste to share.

I only saw this tweet from Jones' account today referring to Burnham:

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https://x.com/owenjonesjourno/status/2068696851394580542#m

Owen Jones @owenjonesjourno
3h
This article was written by Caroline Wheeler.

Her husband is Tom Harper, a senior director at PR firm APCO.

Harper was commissioned by Josh Simons, then boss of Labour Together, to compile a dossier smearing journalists including Paul Holden and Gabriel Pogrund.

That was because of Holden's work investigating Labour Together's unlawfully undeclared donations from rich donors.

Wheeler isn't personally implicated in this. We should note, however, that she left the Sunday Times as its political editor after the scandal broke.

Josh Simons resigned as an MP to make way for Andy Burnham to return to Westminster.

Nobody who knows Simons - who all testify to his huge ego - believes that he would have stood down without substantial commitments in exchange.

That may include a plum job in Number 10. It may also mean political commitments.

It has previously been briefed that Ed Miliband could become Chancellor under Burnham.

For those who want a decisive break from Starmerism, that would be the most optimistic scenario.

Miliband has gone on a political journey, believing he failed as Labour leader because he wasn't bold enough, and he is the only real Cabinet minister with a clear vision and sense of purpose.

Josh Simons is one of those you would expect to be fiercely opposed to Miliband becoming Chancellor.

I can't prove Simons briefed Caroline Wheeler as part of a rearguard offensive to make sure Burnham doesn't offer any transformative break from Starmerism.

But you wouldn't bet against it, would you?
The i Paper @theipaper
Jun 19
Ed Miliband could lose out on Chancellor job in a Burnham Cabinet trib.al/3yDk0mV

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That what you were referring to?

cheers,
I