Andy Burnham wants a ‘loosening of the whipping system in Parliament’

Andy Burnham has once more reiterated his desire to loosen the ‘whipping system in Parliament’ as he continues to set out his stall for the Labour leadership and vision for the country.

Burnham, who is hoping to secure victory in the Makerfield by-election, has previously made no secret of his desire to reform the whipping system in Parliament. The Mayor of Greater Manchester has previously criticised the ‘straitjacket of the whip’ and has said he believes that it could ‘raise the esteem of parliamentary politics in the eyes of the public, if they knew people could do that more’. He has also said that it would help connect politicians with the public more if they could speak their minds freely.

With Burnham making no secret of his desire to challenge for the Labour Party leadership, some of those views are once more being put under scrutiny and in an interview with the Times he reiterated his past position.

Asked if he still wanted to abolish the whipping system, Burnham replied: “I look back at the times when I was in the PLP [parliamentary Labour party] … if we’d gone with what the PLP was saying — and I am talking about Iraq, but I’m talking about other things as well — the conscience of the PLP will guide the government, that’s what I believe.”

He went on to add: “Where it goes wrong is if a small group of people at the top use the whip as an instrument of threat. I think the government will be better served by the collective wisdom of the PLP, personally … the main thing I would come to is authenticity. Let your representatives be authentic representatives of their places. Don’t punish them for taking a position that actually connects with people they are serving. Don’t send them into TV studios with lines to take on everything.”