Starmer is trying to crush Burnham in the same way he crushed Corbyn

The Labour Party have once again found themselves embroiled in a crisis of their own making. Politics Joe’s Ava Santina reported that a Labour MP warned her not to forget past “stitch-ups” by the Labour right, which have advantageously benefited many within the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP). This Labour MP appears to refer to the advantageous gains received by those on the right wing of Labour, rewarding them for their toxic game-playing to dismantle Jeremy Corbyn’s popular leadership in 2019.

Repeating past behaviours of duplicity and dishonesty, the UK government are revealing their immature, petty and self-interested political agendas yet again. However, the elephant in the room is impossible to ignore. Once again, the ‘party of the working class’ has shown blatant contempt for letting its members have a say.

On Burnham, Labour MP tells me “don’t forget most of the PLP benefited v well from stich ups two to four years back.”

Would limit any outcry on today’s news…

— Ava-Santina (@AvaSantina) January 25, 2026

Labour’s neoliberal politics

Growing public debate has brought top-down politics under increasing scrutiny, with many people calling for a radical shift towards a community-led model. Advocates like Your Party’s Zarah Sultana argue that a democratic overhaul would force politicians to act in their constituents’ interests, rather than pursue naked ambitions reinforced by patriarchal and self-entitled processes.

The need for this only requires one look at the establishment parties of the day to see how they have become rife with personal ambition over national responsibility:

The government admits profiteering is rife in children’s care and social care, yet it still wants private finance back in the NHS. This is an ideology where a few will profit while everyone else pays.#NHSNotForProfit #EconomicJustice pic.twitter.com/iU9Mf3esFG

— Natalie Bennett (@natalieben) November 25, 2025

Labour right running scared

This latest debacle in Labour is no different. The double-standards on show from the PLP can’t be unseen. Desperately attempting to safeguard the current Starmer-loyalist cabinet, they have seen fit to block a potential Labour candidate said to have ‘exceptional talent’. Running scared from healthy competition, Starmer appears to be threatened by Burnham. Nevertheless, no one should be surprised. The Manchester Mayor has built a strong track record and won the respect of party members. Quite unlike the UK Prime Minister, who has done neither.

Their disdain for Burnham can hardly be missed. This is all the more obvious given their eager prioritisation of briefing the media in their ‘stitch-ups’ of popular political figures. Burnham shared his apparent upset that after ’30 years of service’, he had to hear his candidacy was denied through the media. Labour have since come out desperate to convince the public that Burnham is the liar, not in fact them. Unlucky for them that emails and publications come with time stamps:

NEW: Lab source said last night it ‘categorically untrue’ party briefed b4 Burnham informed

BUT this AM source close to Burnham tells me news posted (via @PippaCrerar) on X at 11.56am. Burnham received call from party at 12.12 & email 12.20

Clearly v bad blood over all of this https://t.co/OIQezc3ycU

— Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) January 26, 2026

Referring to Starmer’s leadership and campaign pledges which were all found to simply be a manipulative game of hood-winking, this X account stated:

Impossible to forget: the methodical clear out of the left wing plus the rigorous control of candidate selection. Also the abandonment of Starmer's so-called pledges. Never forgotten nor forgiven.
Right now they're blabbing about "*inconveniencing* 2 million Manchester voters" 😏

— Clapton Blues 💙 London E5 (@garyfoskett) January 25, 2026

Lie, lie, lie, lie, lie, lie…..

pic.twitter.com/zxkEhPGsNo

— Gareth (@gazzalfc09) January 25, 2026

Don’t get me wrong: we are not cheerleaders for either Starmer or Burnham. Burnham stood by as austerity policies rolled out and harmed the UK public. He has also remained notably quiet on Gaza and Britain’s foreign policy. As a stalwart of the Blair and Brown era, the Metro Mayor might appear as a superior candidate for some Labour members. However, given his previous membership of Labour Friends of Israel (LFI), he seemingly offers no real change to take on the far-right–fuelled crisis before us.

Our own Skwawkbox reported yesterday on the Canary’s lack of surprise at the game playing on show from Labour, and wrote:

But his (indisputable) superiority to Starmer is what guarantees that Starmer’s lackeys will pull every trick to block him from contesting parliamentary election. So will those who hope to replace Starmer when he is inevitably forced out. They won’t want the competition. And while his stance on Gaza has been bland to put it kindly, he hasn’t been rabidly pro-Israel. That’s enough to instil horror in most Labour MPs. After all, Starmer’s faction rigged selections for the 2024 general election. This included barring many Black candidates.

Demand receipts

This era of Western politics thrives on dishonesty and manipulation. Repeatedly, Western politicians have put lining their own pockets ahead of serving the communities that elected them and entrusted them with power. Nevertheless, Starmer has seriously miscalculated his grip of ‘power’, with this latest authoritarian move further diminishing respect and trust among its members.

Given this is one of the least favourable PM’s the UK has ever had, he hasn’t got much he can afford to lose.

Moreover, it has never been more important for the public to look beyond grand emotive statements and headlines. We must check the receipts of those who lord over us, because this latest debacle reminds us just how readily politicians resort to lies and manipulation.

Featured image via the Canary