Andy Burnham was spared the usual round of conference back-biting as many potential critics avoided the event in Liverpool altogether (Alamy)
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Party conferences are often a forum for rows and plotting, but Labour’s event in Liverpool passed by with barely a whiff of rancour, as allies of Keir Starmer stayed away or kept their powder dry for battles ahead.
Those in attendance in Merseyside remarked not just on the positivity in the air, but on the sense of calm.
In his conference speech, Andy Burnham paid tribute to his predecessor, thanking Starmer “for the historic victory he achieved for us” at the 2024 general election.
A year ago, allies of the then-prime minister were mocking Burnham after his major intervention on the eve of the 2025 conference was widely seen to have backfired, seemingly dealing a blow to his ambitions of moving from Greater Manchester to Downing Street.
Twelve months on, with Burnham in No 10 and at the peak of his political powers, Starmer loyalists angry with how the former PM was treated during his exit from office kept their heads down in Liverpool.
The majority of Labour MPs who were removed from cabinet when Burnham replaced Starmer in July did not appear at any fringe events or speak to the media in Merseyside as the new administration sought to stress a message of party unity.
Darren Jones, seen as the de facto leader of sacked ministers and Starmer loyalists, said in an interview before Labour Party conference that he doesn’t want to be “the chief critic of the government”, having previously publicly criticised the Burnham administration’s first major policy announcement.
Jones participated in two events in Liverpool and left a day before Burnham’s speech, without generating further headlines.
Peter Kyle, the former business secretary, told the one fringe event he participated in at conference that he didn’t want to be troublesome for the new administration.
He described some of Burnham’s own comments ahead of conference last year on the UK relationship with the EU as “disruptive”, and said he “didn’t want to do the same thing to him that he did to us”.
Pressed on whether there should be tax rises or spending cuts in the Budget, Kyle said he was “not answering”, and when asked to choose between Starmer or Burnham, he called it a “ridiculous question”.
One Burnham-supporting Labour MP praised how former ministers behaved in Liverpool, contrasting it with the Conservative Party, saying that Tory MPs usually “fight like rats in a sack” at conferences following a change of leader.
Ex-housing secretary Steve Reed was also in Liverpool this week, and while he didn’t speak at any events, he used a number of media appearances to press home the idea that many of the things the new administration is pursuing were begun by the Starmer government.
Reed said that he and other former ministers “will all get behind Andy” and insisted that they are not a faction but “an informal bunch of MPs that will go for a drink now and then”.
“We’re not trying to develop a different political agenda,” he told Times Radio.
On the eve of conference, The House magazine reported that sacked ministers have recently started meeting at a Westminster pub.
MPs involved describe the get-together as a support network for those adjusting to life on the back benches. However, they also say that they will not be afraid to be “critical friends” when it comes to policy, especially the economy.
One former adviser said behind the scenes they plan on “picking their moments”, and those who have not spoken on the record yet are “gearing up to find their voice again”.
One figure on Labour’s right said: “My wing of the party thinks it’s all going to be a disaster, but unlike the first year of Corbyn we’re not allowed to say it.”
An MP told PoliticsHome they expected former chancellor Rachel Reeves to wait until after the Budget late next month to speak publicly.
