Lucy Powell, the deputy leader of the Labour Party, has accused Downing Street of running what she calls a "boys club" where senior female ministers are attacked anonymously. She told The Guardian on 4 July 2026 that she, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson have all been targeted by people who refuse to attach their names to their criticism. She described the experience as "unpleasant" and said it has made her colleagues afraid to speak up.

Powell made these comments the same day Andy Burnham, the incoming prime minister, was meeting supporters in Manchester. Tracy Braib, the mayor of West Yorkshire, was also there—she had been targeted by similar anonymous attacks. Powell was careful not to make excuses or soften her words: she spoke on the record, giving her name to what she was saying, a week before Burnham officially takes office.

Why This Matters Now

Powell's timing sends a message. By naming the problem publicly before Burnham becomes prime minister, she leaves no room for him to claim later that nobody ever told him there was an issue. She has set a public standard. When he announces his cabinet and picks his advisers, people will measure his choices against what Powell said. In effect, she has given him both a chance to prove he can fix the problem and a reason to prove it.

What Burnham Has Promised to Do

Burnham, the MP for Makerfield and outgoing mayor of Greater Manchester, is expected to become prime minister later in July 2026. He has already said he will fire anyone on his staff caught spreading harmful stories about female ministers. For a prime minister to make that threat before taking office is unusual—they normally wait until there is actually a problem.

One detail complicates his message: he is combining two jobs currently held by women into a single new role run by a man, James Purnell, who will be his chief of staff. The old arrangement had Vidhya Alakeson and Jill Cuthbertson sharing the job. Operationally this may make sense, but it does not look great when Burnham is trying to show he takes women's treatment seriously.

Female Labour MPs have asked Burnham to commit to hiring equal numbers of men and women for minister and staff positions. Powell did not tell him which specific people to hire, but she argued that governments make better decisions when women are in the room at the top. She put it this way: it is not just about fairness, it is about good governance. That choice of language—calling it a practical question rather than just a principle—tends to win more arguments inside political parties.

What's Really Happening

Powell had already signalled her support for Burnham in a previous interview on 28 June, when she said Ed Miliband would be "good" as chancellor. That comment was understood as her trying to shape which ministers Burnham would pick. Her latest remarks follow the same pattern: she is using the time before he takes office to set terms and lay out expectations.

Other senior Labour figures, including Steve Reed, had said just days earlier that the party was completely united and there were no real problems. He dismissed concerns about divisions in late June. Powell is not exactly contradicting them—she is not saying the party is split apart. But when she describes a workplace where people are too scared to voice disagreement with the prime minister, it sits oddly alongside the official message that everything is running smoothly.