Disgraced MP and former Labour Together bigwig Josh Simons has explained why he’s making way for Andy Burnham to return to parliament. But it’s a load of rubbish. Because the only true reason is to keep the party’s centrists in power.

Simons: I’m resigning as an MP because I’m frustrated at trying to get things done

Simons, parachuted in after running ‘Labour Together’, which ran a smear campaign against journalists investigating its role in bringing Starmer to power, & who then had to resign as a minister pic.twitter.com/H5rIZME2OW

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) May 15, 2026

Simons is out, but his right-wing mission continues

Simons’s career was already over when he had to resign as a cabinet office minister because Labour Together had paid people to spy on journalists on his watch. And with prime minister Keir Starmer captaining a sinking ship, Simons seems to think Andy Burnham might be the man to take over from Starmer and keep the Labour right’s project alive.

There could be an aspect of revenge at play because Starmer threw him under the bus. But the Labour right has shown time and again that it cares more about the goal than how you get there. So Starmer was always going to be at risk if he endangered the mission (by, for example, becoming the least popular prime minister ever).

As a reminder, the millionaire-funded Labour Together did its utmost to destroy Jeremy Corbyn and the left from 2017 onwards, and to anoint Starmer (the fraud) as the new leader of the Labour Party.

Labour Together has known for months that the clock is ticking for Starmer. And Simons, as former Labour Together secretary, is absolutely committed to keeping the right-wing dream alive.

Simons got his job as Makerfield MP in 2024. A £47,000 donation from key Labour Together donor Martin Taylor helped him on his way, as did money from fellow Labour Together donors Francesca Perrin and Trevor Chinn. Former Tony Blair-era press officer Michael Craven (also a Labour Together board member) backed Simons too.

For good measure, Simons reminded people in a 2024 email:

I f****g hate Jeremy Corbyn

And it seems Burnham also got a lot of support from people on the right who hated Corbyn and the left in general.

Labour: Burnham is part of the same rot

Alongside numerous other corporate donors, Burnham has received money in the past from:

• Labour Friends of Israel.
• Charlie Parsons, who also gave a lot to former Corbyn challenger Owen Smith, Starmer’s local party, and Starmer’s Labour in general.
• David Garrard, who had been a massive Labour donor before Corbyn but then funded Owen Smith, the Liberal Democrats, and countless Labour right-wingers including Rachel Reeves, Tom Watson, Ian Austin, David Lammy, Pat McFadden, Luciana Berger, Joan Ryan, and Ivan Lewis.
• Waheed Alli, who has been a major donor to Starmer and the party under his control, along with Owen Smith, Wes Streeting, David Lammy, and Liz Kendall.
• Ecotricity (a donor to Labour Together).

Finding himself in such right-wing company, it’s no wonder even the odious Wes Streeting has nice things to say about Burnham. And it’s no wonder someone like Simons feels comfortable backing him.

Andy Burnham
thinks he’ll turn’em.
Though he’s got quite a name
he’s probably just more of the same.

— Michael Rosen NICE 爷爷 (@MichaelRosenYes) May 14, 2026

Andy Burnham voted for the Iraq War, an illegal war that killed over a million people.

As Health Secretary, he helped drive NHS privatisation.

He joined Labour Friends of Israel, opposed BDS as “spiteful”, praised Israel as a “democracy”, and called the Balfour Declaration… https://t.co/ceBjp9kdgw

— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) May 14, 2026

Even by 2010, @AndyBurnhamGM had no regrets about voting for the criminal UK attack on Iraq 7 years before

By then, a million people had been killed

“I don’t back away from the original decision,” he said

He added that he was “proud” to carry on Tony Blair’s legacy

Pure evil pic.twitter.com/so5vZO5Lxw

— Matt Kennard (@kennardmatt) May 14, 2026

The guy they think will save the Labour Party… pic.twitter.com/BOdnS5k7yP

— Matt Kennard (@kennardmatt) May 14, 2026

.@AndyBurnhamGM was praised by the Conservatives for how effective he was at privatising the NHS while serving as health secretary

And, no, he hasn’t changed. Same suit, same opportunist

Labour is dead pic.twitter.com/asAYXcg4A0

— Matt Kennard (@kennardmatt) May 14, 2026

Burnham left Westminster after losing the 2015 leadership contest.

Having abstained on the Tories welfare bill and having supported Blair down the line, he saw no future in remaining an MP under Corbyn. It was a career move, NOT a protest against “the national political system.”

— Steve Howell (@FromSteveHowell) May 14, 2026

Labour Together and the Labour right in general may be seeking to rebrand. But whether it’s Simons, Streeting, Starmer, or Burnham, it’s the same old rot. And we must keep exposing them all to the light of day.

Labour Together has rebranded.

“It is a new organisation, with new leadership, a renewed mission and a fundamentally different approach to what went before.”

Do these people really think we’re that stupid? We still need an independent investigation into the activities of LT. https://t.co/lotTW1Le7D

— Kim Johnson (@KimJohnsonMP) May 14, 2026

There needs to be a full inquiry into Labour Together, its donations and its role in Labour’s internal democratic processes.

Those involved in the Labour Together scandals cannot be simply allowed to resign, but must be made to answer serious questions and face consequences. https://t.co/V7WlIvjduW

— Peace & Justice Project (@corbyn_project) May 15, 2026

Featured image via the Canary

By Ed Sykes

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