Burnham appoints James Purnell as his chief of staff.

 

Burnham & Purnell

This is Andy Burnham's first big mistake. He's just appointed the former disgraced Labour minister and failed politician, James Purnell, as his future chief of staff, if he becomes the next UK Prime Minister. Purnell is an odious wretch and a right-wing slime ball. Niccolo Machiavelli famously said in his book 'The Prince' that the first way to measure a ruler's intelligence is to look at the people he chooses to surround himself with.

In 2010, Purnell suddenly resigned as the Labour MP for Stalybridge & Hyde after he launched a failed abortive coup aimed at getting rid of the Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Purnell put on his helmet and went over the top with his rifle and bayonet, only to find that his troops were still in the trenches. They hung him out to dry.

During his time as the MP for Stalybridge & Hyde, Purnell decimated Labour's majority. He then connived with Peter Mandelson to make Jonathan Reynolds his successor after he'd been rejected as a candidate by Labour's NEC.

When Purnell was the minister for work & pensions, he even proposed charging benefit claimant's interest on a social fund loan. Even the Tories found that sickening and appalling. Purnell was also embroiled in the expenses scandal having been found to have claimed Parliamentary expenses for fridge magnets and flowers.