Burnham 'preparing to ditch use of Union flag on Labour branding' to appease party's 'unpatriotic' left-wing

Published: 23:29, 8 August 2026 | Updated: 23:31, 8 August 2026 Andy Burnham has been accused of preparing to downgrade the use of the Union flag on Labour branding in a sop to the party's 'unpatriotic' left-wing. The Prime Minister faced claims that he would ditch Sir Keir Starmer's policy of putting the national flag at the heart of the party's image. Labour insiders said the first sign of that would come at the party's annual conference in Liverpool next month. Last night, one source told the Mail on Sunday: 'The Left never like us promoting the Union flag and they complained when Keir started doing it. 'Burnham's obviously pandering to the Left as a thank you for helping to get rid of Starmer.' Unabashed appeals to national pride and use of the Union flag were core parts of Sir Keir's strategy to show the party had banished the allegedly unpatriotic, pro-Russia era of Labour under his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, and could start appealing again to disaffected working-class voters. Mr Corbyn's allies always denied that under him, Labour was pro-Russia and unpatriotic. However, after taking over as leader in April 2020, Sir Keir sought to underline how the party was under new management by boasting how he was 'proud that we're patriotic', and ensuring that the national flag was prominently displayed on party conference stages and Labour branding. Newly installed Prime Minister Andy Burnham is accused of planning to scale back the use of the Union flag on Labour branding to appease the party's left wing, who reportedly aided his rise to power following Sir Keir Starmer's departure Sir Keir previously placed the Union flag at the center of Labour's branding to rebuild trust with working-class voters and distance the party from the Jeremy Corbyn era The flag was put on a new-style party membership card which featured the pledge: 'Putting the country first'. However, party insiders revealed last night that at the time, the flag-waving had provoked private protests from some Left-wing MPs who claimed that their voters did not identify with it. And they said that under Mr Burnham, the Union flag would be displayed much less prominently than when Sir Keir was in charge. A source: 'It might be subtle to begin with, but clearly, the Lefties don't like it and Mr Burnham has to show he's grateful for helping him to oust Starmer.' Last night, one left-wing MP who backed Mr Burnham to be leader insisted most party members did not have a problem with displaying the Union flag. But in a swipe at how the flag was used under Sir Keir's leadership, the MP added: 'They do have a problem with a bunch of factional incompetents hijacking it for a narrow and ultimately failed project.' Another Labour MP said privately: 'I think Andy is as patriotic as anyone else and I think when he's representing the national interest as PM, the Union flag will still be proudly flying. 'But maybe when it's purely party issues, we will see more of Labour's Red Rose symbol.' However, senior Labour MP and former Minister Graham Stringer warned against any such image changes, saying: 'It would be a mistake to make us look less patriotic. A Labour spokesperson said that no decision had yet been made about the branding for the conference in September but did not comment on any wider image changes.