Burnham’s ‘black box’ plans for cabinet send Westminster into hysteria

Politics The Guardian By Jessica Elgot Deputy political editor 16 Jul 2026 16:30 1 min read

Few know who will get top jobs when new PM enters No 10 and the vacuum of information has its downsides As Labour MPs filed out of Portcullis House on the last day before parliament rose – and Andy Burnham ascends – one said they were struggling with a metaphor for how concentrated Burnham’s power had become. Flailing for something that did not sound insulting, he gave up and likened Burnham’s absolute control to North Korea’s Kim dynasty. It is a very congenial and receptive kind of dictatorshi

Few know who will get top jobs when new PM enters No 10 and the vacuum of information has its downsides

As Labour MPs filed out of Portcullis House on the last day before parliament rose – and Andy Burnham ascends – one said they were struggling with a metaphor for how concentrated Burnham’s power had become. Flailing for something that did not sound insulting, he gave up and likened Burnham’s absolute control to North Korea’s Kim dynasty.

It is a very congenial and receptive kind of dictatorship. But never in British politics has such power been concentrated in the hands of such a tiny number of individuals. Never in British politics have so many of Labour’s biggest beasts had so little influence or leverage.

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