In 2015 the contest for leader of the Labour Party swung decisively in Jeremy Corbyn’s favour following Andy Burnham’s extraordinary flip flop over his response to the then government’s welfare reforms.
“We cannot simply abstain,” he told his party – just minutes after abstaining in a vote on those very measures in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill.
There have been numerous examples of Mr Burnham’s flip flops but perhaps the most dramatic involves the Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone.
He won re-election in 2021 with 67 per cent of the vote on a manifesto which included introducing the CAZ.
By October 2022, the CAZ had cost over £62m and by December 2023 this had risen to nearly £100m, even though the mayor had agreed a pause to implement the Clean Air Zone in February 2022 and announced in May of that year the CAZ would not charge.
However, in terms of policy flip flops Mr Burnham could well be seen as a mere amateur as compared to Sir Keir Starmer.
Last week, Sir Keir tore up his party’s flagship green spending plan from £28bn annually to just £4.7bn.
On 311 separate occasions Labour politicians confirmed the policy would proceed but as a result of his dramatic flip flop, the plan has been reduced from its original £140bn over five years to just £23.7bn over that period.
One policy that remains is the creation of a state-owned energy company costing £8.5bn.
The omens are not good and I suspect it will only be a matter of time before we have a further flip flop.
Eight years ago, Nottingham Labour was so keen on setting up Robin Hood Energy. To plenty of fanfare the company officially launched on September 7, 2015.
However, as losses mounted the council were forced to sell the company while sustaining total losses estimated at £38.1m, effectively bankrupting the council.
However, this does follow in the tradition of every Labour government bankrupting our country by the time they leave office.
On top of the policy flip flops, more than 60, we have Labour MPs openly admitting they have no idea what Sir Keir believes in.
On February 12, Rosie Duffield said the following, “I know that a lot of Labour MPs would like some clarity on our policies going forward.”
Asked if she herself, felt she really knew what Labour stands for on some of the bigger issues, she continued, “No. I think people are obviously developing our manifesto.”
Locally we have Labour councillors voting to include the Walshaw Brook site in Places for Everyone, then campaigning for it to be taken out. The flip flops continue.
The Labour Party will say anything to get your vote. Don’t be fooled.
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