ANDY Burnham is like a firework that briefly “lights up the sky” but then crashes back to earth, one of Sir Keir Starmer’s closest allies has blasted.
Business Secretary Peter Kyle swiped at the Manchester Mayor for trying to undermine the PM on the eve of Labour’s conference.
Andy Burnham has been described as being like a firework that briefly ‘lights up the sky’ but then crashes back to earth[/caption]
Sir Keir Starmer’s close ally Peter Kyle blasted the Manchester Mayor[/caption]
In a thinly-veiled leadership pitch, Mr Burnham has attacked the Government’s lack of direction and said MPs have urged him to challenge for the top job.
In a stinging rebuke, Mr Kyle told The Sun: “It’s a case study that sometimes fireworks can light up the night sky – but they also come back to earth with a solid thump.”
The Business Secretary also slapped down Mr Burnham’s demands for mass renationalisation of industries like water and energy.
He said: “What you will not see with me is an ideological approach to it.
You will not see me – because I’ve read in a textbook when I was at university – a sort of zeal for bringing things into public ownership, when it isn’t right for the moment that we’re living in.”
Mr Burnham’s criticism of drift in Downing Street has resonated with many Labour MPs who believe Sir Keir is lacking purpose.
One backbencher predicted the party’s annual conference that starts in Liverpool tomorrow would be a “circus” of leadership speculation.
They said: “It’ll be like an episode of The Traitors, and Andy needs to decide whether he’s a faithful or a traitor.”
Mr Kyle said he was “looking forward to seeing Keir 2.0” and begged despairing voters to stick with him.
He said: “The thing I’ll say about Keir is he adapts and he grows and he keeps moving forward. He’s a much more emotional person than I think people realise.”
Mr Kyle also slapped down Mr Burnham’s demands for mass renationalisation of industries like water and energy[/caption]
