Burnham promises Labour MPs he will not use party discipline to ‘stifle debate’
Andy Burnham told Labour MPs he wanted to change the culture of fear around party whips. Photograph: House Of Commons Handout/EPAView image in fullscreenAndy Burnham told Labour MPs he wanted to change the culture of fear around party whips. He routinely withdrew the whip from rebellious MPs.The Makerfield MP said he would change that culture and allow MPs to speak out about their disagreements without fearing retribution from the whips.
- ▪Andy Burnham told Labour MPs he wanted to change the culture of fear around party whips.
- ▪Photograph: House Of Commons Handout/EPAView image in fullscreenAndy Burnham told Labour MPs he wanted to change the culture of fear around party whips.
- ▪He routinely withdrew the whip from rebellious MPs.The Makerfield MP said he would change that culture and allow MPs to speak out about their disagreements without fearing retribution from the whips.
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Andy Burnham told Labour MPs he wanted to change the culture of fear around party whips. Photograph: House Of Commons Handout/EPAView image in fullscreenAndy Burnham told Labour MPs he wanted to change the culture of fear around party whips. Photograph: House Of Commons Handout/EPALabour party leadershipBurnham promises Labour MPs he will not use party discipline to ‘stifle debate’Prime minister in waiting looks to address frustrations backbenchers had with Keir Starmer’s style of party managementJessica Elgot Deputy political editorWed 8 Jul 2026 17.44 EDTLast modified on Wed 8 Jul 2026 18.05 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleAndy Burnham has promised MPs that he will never use party discipline to “stifle debate” and says they should raise problems and policy ideas “without fear or…
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