What Andy Burnham can learn from, er… Marine Le Pen?

While it feels easy to look back into the past for lessons from British history, it isn’t the only option. The global situation may not be entirely rosy at the moment, but there are many left-wing governments out there who may have a thing or two to teach a Labour party which recently sat down for a drink at the electoral last chance saloon. 

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Pedro Sanchez is an obvious example; not only has his national team just won the World Cup, but the Spanish premier has stayed in power for years without compromising his principles. His government has defended Gaza and made the case, time and time again, for immigration. Still, they remain in government. His country and Britain are different, sure, but there may be some things Burnham could learn from his tenure. 

Hell, he could even go one step further and try to build those international links; invite Sanchez to Britain, perhaps, or send his senior ministers to visit the governments he hopes to be friends with. No man is an island, and we live in tough and divided times. What better way to show that you’re different than to open your arms to like-minded people and politicians across the world? 

Really, what I’m trying to say is that – hang on one moment, please – prime minister Andy Burnham should be taking his cues from – sorry, I think there’s something in my throat – …the National Rally in France? No, really, I mean it, let me explain.

Earlier this week, Reform announced that the guest star at their annual conference in September would be none other than Jordan Bardella, Marine Le Pen’s right-hand man. The president of the far-right party first met Nigel Farage last year, telling the press at the time that he was excited to be working with Reform. Clearly these weren’t idle words, as he will be coming back to England in just over a month to cement those ties further.

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Elsewhere, Bardella has been busy establishing links with Poland’s Law and Justice Party, as well as Giorgia Meloni and her government in Italy. The National Rally’s goal, it is believed, is to learn from other far-right and populist right parties, and to ensure that, if they do get into power next year, they will be able to hit the ground running with their international allies.

Now, doesn’t that sound like something the Labour party ought to have been doing in those long opposition years before Starmer was elected? It may now be too late for him, but Burnham and his team can still try to create a network of interesting, relevant, politically compatible people and parties across the world. 

Oh, and another lesson they may wish to learn from this most unusual of sources is that, well – not everyone is your friend. Earlier this month, Elon Musk tweeted that Marine Le Pen was “France’s last hope”. The reception he got from her acolytes was… frosty. “What matters isn’t the opinion of people abroad,” said party spokesperson Laurent Jacobelli on French radio. “It’s the opinion of the French people”. 

Speaking to Politico, MEP Thierry Mariani added that “these marks of support matter more to reporters than they do to voters. We haven’t asked for anything”. As the French don’t quite say: miaou.

What this shows is that Le Pen’s party, morally repulsive and dangerous as it is, has enough faith in itself to know precisely where it stands, whom it wants to work with, and whose support it can confidently do without.

Maybe that is the one and only lesson Andy Burnham ought to learn from the French far right, a most unusual inspiration: knowing who you are, who your friends are and who your enemies can make you go a long way, and there is no shame in trying to learn from others beyond your borders. Let’s just hope it doesn’t get Le Pen or Bardella over the line in 2027.