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Andy Burnham has been admonished for his 'blokeish' obsession with pubs and football, but the reality is that his Government is packed with powerful women competing for his ear and influencing his policies.

The effect, according to one long-standing Burnham ally, has been to create 'a bit of a Mean Girls atmosphere' – a reference to the celebrated 2004 Hollywood film about cut-throat schoolgirl cliques.

Playing Regina George – the queen bee of North Shore High in the movie – is Louise Haigh, who as First Secretary of State is the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) in all but name.

Trailing in her wake are former DPM Angela Rayner and Deputy Labour Leader Lucy Powell, who were both forced to accept more junior positions in Mr Burnham's Cabinet than they hoped for: Ms Rayner went back to her old job as Housing Secretary while Ms Powell was handed the job of Education Secretary.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Health Secretary Yvette Cooper complete the impressive roster of senior positions held by women.

A source says: 'Be in no doubt, Louise played a huge role in that process.'

Described by colleagues in Civil Service parlance as 'strong-willed' – she has been investigated and exonerated over bullying claims – there are already understood to be tensions between her and Ms Haigh.

Former Deputy PM Angela Rayner pictured at the a Labour Party event for the May 2 local elections in 2024

Louise Haigh as First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Andy Burnham pictured leaving Millbank studios after speaking on LBC's Andrew Marr show

A Whitehall source said: 'Haigh wants to be the only one who has Andy's ear, and is now moving to block Antonia when she tries to circumvent her. She basically wants to kill anyone who gets in between her and Andy.'

Another source said: 'We appear to have in the first female CS someone who doesn't seem to like the women around her very much.'

Ms Haigh's ascent – which has been accompanied by a 'glow up' makeover in which she ditched her trademark red hair – can be traced back to just four months into Sir Keir Starmer's premiership when she was forced to resign over the revelation she had pleaded guilty to fraud in 2014.

She was enraged that she had been defenestrated despite informing No 10 about the false report of a stolen phone when she was appointed.

For Ms Haigh, revenge was a dish best served over the following 18 months.

In November, The Mail on Sunday reported how she had been overheard in an Italian restaurant in Covent Garden discussing how to remove Sir Keir.

Ms Haigh denied plotting, but multiple sources said that she was using the Tribune group of Left-wing Labour MPs to machinate against the PM.

Then, on December 14, this newspaper splashed on its front page the exclusive revelation that Mr Burnham had struck a deal to stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election to return to the Commons.

Education Secretary Lucy Powell arriving in Downing Street in central London on July 28

Cabinet Secretary, Dame Antonia Romeo departs from the British Museum in London

Burnham's cabinet has been likened to having a 'mean girls' atmosphere rather than being too blokeish

He was blocked by No 10, but the first blow had been struck, and Mr Burnham's and Ms Haigh's destinies started to dovetail.

Ms Powell, a long-standing friend of Mr Burnham, had been widely tipped to become DPM after she voted against the ruling NEC's block on Mr Burnham's attempt to stand in Gorton and Denton.

But tensions grew in the aftermath of Labour's disastrous results in the May 7 local elections – the Burnham camp were infuriated by Ms Powell's warning against a leadership challenge.

'We do not do hostile takeovers in the Labour Party, it's not what we're about,' she said.

'Unhelpful', was the verdict of a member of Mr Burnham's inner-circle. 'She seemed to be keeping her options open for a run herself.'

Many Labour insiders had assumed that Mr Burnham would re-align the post of DPM with the deputy leadership of the Labour Party, with both positions previously held by Ms Rayner.

However, the popular Ms Powell ended up in the education berth, as third choice behind Rachel Reeves and former Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

One Labour source claimed: 'Lucy doesn't want to be there. She thought she was going to be DPM.' Her allies dispute that, saying she preferred to have her own department to being a titular No 2.

Pictured: Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey, Britain's Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Britain's Minister of State in the Cabinet Office Louise Haigh and Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service

Ms Rayner's star has also waned after months of speculation that she had formed a pact with Mr Burnham in advance of his coup.

As recently as March, he was encouraging the chatter by describing her in public as 'Queen of the North' – a direct reference to his own moniker of King of the North.

But Mr Burnham's allies complained that darling of the Left Ms Rayner was 'inscrutable' during meetings to discuss how to seize power, and they 'lost trust' in her after a photographer was tipped off about a secret meeting between the pair in April.

The result was the return to housing rather than one of the Great Offices of State.

A source said: 'Louise has played a blinder by making her ambitions clear from the start. Lucy and Angela in particular seemed to be hedging their bets and playing double games.

It has led to a bit of Mean Girls paranoia in their camps about what Louise might have whispered in Andy's ear.'

Ms Haigh's 'glow-up' has coincided with the immaculate power-play. Francesca Cairns, a colour analysis expert, described her new hairstyle as 'a warmer, less saturated auburn' with sunglasses 'adding a layer of deliberate authority'.

Ms Cairns said: 'The wardrobe has followed the same logic, fewer competing hues, more flattering neutrals and soft structure, which reads as polished rather than performative.

'I also think the change tracks the step-up in responsibility. First Secretary is a different level of visibility and expectation.

'The earlier look was distinctive and memorable for a departmental secretary – this one projects calm competence and gravitas. It feels like a conscious recalibration towards being taken more seriously in the role.'

It was reported this weekend that Mr Burnham has been told by No 10 social media experts to be less 'blokeish' in his posts by cutting boorish references to football and the pub.

But according to a Labour source quoted by The Spectator magazine, Mr Burnham should instead be described as 'Labour's first female Prime Minister' – because of his sheer number of female advisers, backers and senior ministers keen to push policy issues deemed to be particularly important to women, such as social care and family finances.

The most influential of those 'advisers and backers', of course, is his spouse Marie-France 'Frankie' van Heel – described as a 'blunt wife' because of her reaction to his announcement that he was going to run for leader: 'What? Not again?'

A Burnham ally described their marriage to the MoS. 'She definitely wears the trousers,' they said. 'She is the reason why he went on holiday last week despite his pressing workload.

'She put her foot down and said that family time was sacrosanct. There was never any doubt that he would have to go.'

Last night a No 10 source strongly denied that there were any tensions between Ms Haigh and the Cabinet Secretary, saying: 'This is simply not true.'