Incoming British Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s latest hire, Matthew McGregor, has drawn significant criticism for his ties to far-left groups.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Incoming British Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s new head of political strategy is a former director of Hope Not Hate, a far-left group that smeared supporters of Nigel Farage as “racist” and President Donald J. Trump as “fascist.” 📰 DETAIL: On Thursday, it was revealed that Matthew McGregor, incoming Labour Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s newly-appointed head of political strategy, served as Director of Campaigns and Communications for Hope Not Hate (HNH) from 2018 to 2021. HNH is a far-left campaign organization with connections to the Labour government. The group has faced repeated allegations of breaking electoral and charity law, partisan and ideological bias, running smear campaigns against conservatives, and spreading disinformation. The organization also faced significant scrutiny after one of its organizers, Liron Woodcock-Velleman, pleaded guilty to child sex crimes. McGregor also briefly worked for former President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign in 2012. McGregor has described supporters of the Brexit Party, a party in favor of Britain leaving the European Union and the predecessor to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, as “racists and Islamophobes.” McGregor described Farage as a “racist piece of s**t” and President Donald Trump as a “maniac with fascist tendencies” in various posts on X (formerly Twitter). A few weeks later, President Trump was targeted in an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. Despite his brief time with the Obama campaign, Burnham’s allies are reportedly keen to emphasize this experience, rather than his more extensive time with HNH. McGregor is also a board member of Reprieve, a group that lobbies to prevent people from being stripped of British citizenship, a policy which the group describes as “fundamentally racist.” Notably, this would have prevented Shabir Ahmed, the Pakistan-born ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang, from having his British citizenship removed, as well as multiple Islamic State terrorists. 🎯 IMPACT: Despite Burnham’s pledge to “do politics differently,” the appointment of McGregor suggests the Labour Party is still relying on old personnel and far-left tactics. It also underscores the extent of connections between the Labour Party and far-left organizations. McGregor is set to enter Number 10 Downing Street, the British Prime Minister’s official residence, alongside Burnham, following the resignation of outgoing Labour Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. 👀 FLASHBACK: Back in June, it was revealed during the Makerfield by-election (special election) that HNH was campaigning for Labour’s Burnham and against Reform’s Rob Kenyon. HNH reportedly leafleted and ran digital ads. Subsequently, Farage wrote to the Electoral Commission, Britain’s independent body which oversees elections, urging an investigation into the group. Farage alleged that HNH exceeded the £700 (~$943) spending limit for local non-party campaigners. |
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