this post was submitted on 24 Jun 2026
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Andy Burnham picks fossil fuel lobbyist James Purnell as chief of staff. Just in case you thought energy policy might improve.

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[–] NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 5 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Fuck. We’re getting Farage, aren’t we?

[–] mjr@infosec.pub 1 points 3 hours ago

I've given up trying to predict politics since 2015. There's at least five million reasons why Farage might still fail.

[–] danielquinn@lemmy.ca 5 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Neither the Guardian article, nor his Wikipedia entry mention any lobbying for fossil fuels. Do you have a source for this?

[–] mjr@infosec.pub 4 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

It literally says he was CEO of Flint Global. It's known they've lobbied for BP, but they don't declare who they work for.

[–] danielquinn@lemmy.ca 7 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Well as someone who's never heard of Flint Global, I think the fossil fuel link required supporting data.

Even still, having worked in the past for a company that did lobbying for many industries, one of which was fossils is still a ways from "fossil fuel lobbyist". That sort of claim requires more direct evidence for me.

He is however the former chair of Friends of Israel though, so I think were on the same "fuck this guy" page.

[–] Malyca@lemmy.zip 2 points 13 hours ago

The faces change but the evil stays the same

[–] eleijeep@piefed.social 3 points 14 hours ago

More of the same, then.

[–] hellothere@sh.itjust.works 2 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Again, Burnham does not - and has never - spoken for the left of the party. And I don't mean the SCG, I mean any non-Blairite.

He's a snake and always has been. If people think Starmer is bad, you're gonna be spitting blood by Christmas.

[–] mjr@infosec.pub 1 points 3 hours ago

SCG?

And I suspect many would still rank Blair's government above any since, despite the Iraq scandal and it including Mandelson. Even now, some still listen to him, despite his funders.

I doubt anyone serious expects Burnham to be far left. Not even the tabloid headline writers believe what they're writing.