Progressives within Labour and the Green Party have told openDemocracy of their concern over Andy Burnham’s plans to hire one of the UK’s top lobbying bosses to run his No 10 operation.
Burnham is set to appoint former Labour MP and Blair-era cabinet minister James Purnell as his chief of staff if he becomes prime minister in the coming weeks.
Purnell is the CEO of one of the UK’s most elite lobbying and advisory firms, Flint Global, whose clients have included Uber, Amazon, BP and Airbnb. While the company does not declare its clients in the UK, its European arm was last year paid more than one million euros to lobby for Apple.
Flint’s website says it advises “regulated water companies and major institutional investors on their strategic and investment decisions” and energy companies on “how to positively shape the policy debate and manage regulatory risk”.
Though Purnell’s new role in Burnham’s team has not been officially announced, openDemocracy can reveal he has today resigned as a director of Flint Global, according to documents filed with Companies House.
His appointment will be seen as an encouraging sign for many business leaders, particularly in the private utilities sector, where there is significant concern that the new PM will pursue renationalisation.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski has criticised the appointment and called for a full list of Flint’s clients to be published.
He told openDemocracy: “It seems it’s out with the old and in with the old. What is it about this Labour government that is so keen on bringing in corporate lobbyists into the heart of Downing Street?
“This is starting to feel like a bit of a Blair and Starmer tribute act, with Labour Together’s Josh Simons also expected to have a senior role.
“So there can be no suspicion that James Purnell, a tireless campaigner for welfare cuts, is putting the interests of his clients above those of the people he’s supposed to serve, a full list of Flint Global’s clients must be published.”
A Labour source who spoke to openDemocracy on condition of anonymity expressed concern about the appointment, comparing Purnell’s potential conflicts of interest to those of Peter Mandelson when he was hired as ambassador to the US.
‘It’s worth remembering that the issue with Peter Mandelson’s appointment wasn’t just his connections to Epstein,” they said. “It was also his role as a senior lobbyist on behalf of some of the world’s largest multinationals, which created a huge conflict of interest.
“If Andy truly wants to change the country, then he will have to take on some of the Big Tech corporations who Purnell is paid to represent. Will he be prepared to do so with Purnell as his chief of staff?”
openDemocracy contacted James Purnell via his LinkedIn profile, which Purnell has since deleted or made private.
Flint’s links to Starmer’s government
With no leadership contest in sight, Burnham is likely to be confirmed as the new prime minister before the end of next month.
The former Manchester mayor has been putting together a team of advisers over the last few months. Key figures include his longtime aide Kevin Lee, Labour MPs Anneliese Midgley and Louise Haigh, and former Labour Together boss Josh Simons, who stepped down in order for Burnham to contest the Makerfield by-election.
As chief of staff, Purnell will be among the most influential figures in Burnham’s administration. Under Starmer, the role was initially held by Sue Gray, and later by Morgan McSweeney. Gray has also been advising Burnham in recent months.
Burnham and Purnell have been close allies for most of their political careers. Both men were elected to Parliament in 2001 and became junior ministers in Tony Blair’s government a few years later, before going on to become cabinet ministers.
As a backbench MP, Purnell briefly chaired both the Private Equity All-Party Parliamentary Group and Labour Friends of Israel. He left politics at the 2010 general election and went on to work for a range of organisations, including Boston Consulting Group and the progressive think tank IPPR.
He joined Flint Global as CEO in June 2024, as the firm sought to develop its ties to the Labour Party. Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff, Sam White, had joined the firm months earlier, and No 10 adviser Rav Athwal went on to join the following year.
Flint has organised a number of roundtable discussions with Labour ministers and its clients in recent years. Scotland secretary Douglas Alexander, another New Labour figure who returned to Parliament in 2024 and was minister for trade until last year, has taken part in a number of Flint-hosted events.
Last June, Alexander met one-on-one with Flint Global to discuss the government’s trade strategy. The meeting came months after he took part in a roundtable with several of Flint’s large clients, including Unilever, Amazon, Uber, Diageo and Quadrature, the hedge fund that donated £4m to Labour in 2024.
openDemocracy contacted James Purnell via his LinkedIn profile, which was deleted or made private soon afterwards.
openDemocracy approached Andy Burnham’s team for comment, but they directed us to Flint’s press office, which had not responded at time of publication.
