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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Andy Burnham

163 replies

Thedogscollar · 17/02/2022 23:51

AIBU after watching and listening to Andy Burnham on Question Time to plead with him to be the next Labour Party Leader?

He was engaging, passionate, fair and stood up for the ordinary working families of this nation.

Keir Starmer is a nice enough man but when Andy Burnham speaks he is so passionate about his politics which seems lacking in Keir Starmer.

OP posts:
WellJuhnelle · 18/02/2022 18:38

[quote ExtraOnion]I live in Greater Manchester … I love our King of the North .. as do the huge percentage of people who voted for him.

For those interested in the facts about the CAZ, rather that the Tory propaganda about it .. please read this recently released statement. The CAZ was anyways, and remains, a government initiative, with govt decided deadlines.

andyformayor.co.uk/2022/02/18/personal-statement-by-rt-hon-andy-burnham-mayor-of-greater-manchester-on-the-gm-clean-air-zone/[/quote]
It wasn’t the government’s choice to make it cover 500 square miles though, was it?

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 18/02/2022 18:42

Everyone in my local Labour Party want Andy Burnham as leader.

Down to earth.

Ellie56 · 18/02/2022 18:43

[quote Thedogscollar]@FrecklesMalone
It's tragic what we have ended up with as leading this country.
I use the term leading very loosely. He couldn't lead a dog.[/quote]
Quite agree.
When you see him out with Dylan, the dog is clearly leading him. Grin

PollyPaintsFlowers · 18/02/2022 18:45

I wouldn't vote for him. He's a misogynistic homophobe

Louisianagumbo · 18/02/2022 18:51

@AngelicaElizaAndPeggy

He's all kind of noble and fierce and stands up for the north. I think he's great.
As a Mancunian I think its great that you hold our mayor in such high regard. What do you think he has done particularly well for us in the north?
Blossomtoes · 18/02/2022 18:53

@PollyPaintsFlowers

I wouldn't vote for him. He's a misogynistic homophobe
That genuinely isn’t my impression. Why do you say that?
OhWhyNot · 18/02/2022 18:57

I agree Marsha

And maybe DC has run out of steam …..

It should be though it should be the opposition. I really had big hopes for Starmer it’s disappointing it’s not how he is managing the party his views (don’t agree with them all) it’s lack of connection with the public this is something you have or your don’t a good pr team can only do so much

Lordamighty · 18/02/2022 19:00

@PollyPaintsFlowers

I wouldn't vote for him. He's a misogynistic homophobe
Exactly this ^
LivingDeadGirlUK · 18/02/2022 19:01

I was really impressed with him during the pandemic, sticking up for Manchester, who were going to be given so much less cash per head than other (Tory or London) areas of the UK, in funding for businesses etc. I think he has done well as Mayor in a city that is predominantly labor voting, with the current government everything is a battle. My MP used to love taking pot shots at him (really useless ones that backfired every time) before he defected to labor.

If you watched the Mayoral debates (both this time and the first) he was so far above the other candidates it was like they had just dragged any old person in off the street, I'm not actually a labor voter so was really open to who I voted for but he was hands down the best candidate.

I'd like to see him in the leadership role but I'm not sure its what he wants. I think Keir is ok but he needs a bit more gusto.

supermoonrising · 18/02/2022 19:04

@OhWhyNot
Labour should be further ahead in the polls. If we had a leader that connected more with the public I believe we absolutely would be. I also don’t think the Tories are particularly threatened by Starmers leadership if they were Johnson would be gone

Nope. Johnson is stinking the place out - the trouble for self serving Tories who are only interested in keeping their seat/job - is that there is no one else to rally around. Who else could do better than Johnson? Rees Mogg? Enemy of the NHS Hunt? Gove? Truss? Anyone of them would be like taking a sledge hammer to the working class votes they built up at the last election. The only half decent choice would be Sunak who looks good in a suit, but I think the fact that he’s basically a billionaire isn’t a great look in these belt tightening days. And I don’t think he can debate at all. The worst PM ever is probably the best chance they’ve got.

MarshaBradyo · 18/02/2022 19:06

@OhWhyNot

I agree Marsha

And maybe DC has run out of steam …..

It should be though it should be the opposition. I really had big hopes for Starmer it’s disappointing it’s not how he is managing the party his views (don’t agree with them all) it’s lack of connection with the public this is something you have or your don’t a good pr team can only do so much

I’m not sure how long term the damage is eg if we tend to remember limited messages

I had higher hopes for Starmer too and have been really disappointed in some ways - not enough awareness of harms of lockdowns plus I don’t get how £15 min wage can be seriously suggested economically without tanking the economy with hyperinflation. That kind of fantasy makes me nervous.

I couldn’t vote for Burnham though - I feel I’m waiting for Labour to get back to its more positive landslide days.

Blossomtoes · 18/02/2022 19:07

Can someone please explain what he’s done to merit being described as a misogynistic homophobe?

5128gap · 18/02/2022 19:12

@PollyPaintsFlowers

I wouldn't vote for him. He's a misogynistic homophobe
Why do you say that? What has he said/done?
OhWhyNot · 18/02/2022 19:15

There isn’t anyone that will have the same appeal as Boris did but he would be replaced if Starmer was more of a threat

He won’t ever be considered the worse PM for the Tories not with an 80 seat majority

It doesn’t matter that you or I think he isn’t great at debating (he never has been his strength is speeches and winning voters over) and that is a big part of elections

LivingDeadGirlUK · 18/02/2022 19:16

Lots of hate for the clean air zone I see, I think its a great idea but then I do work on one of the most congested roads in the country outside of London. My feelings aside, its all come from central government. They have also been trying to bring in a congestion charge for Manchester for over 10 years, this is just one of the things we need to do to live in a greener society.

I remember my MP wrote an open letter to AB with another Tory MP during the pandemic about how disgraceful some policy was. They looked like a pair of idiots given the policy was dictated by central government. We seem to live in a time where politicians just say whatever they want and see if they can get it to stick!

KookaburraSits · 18/02/2022 19:17

Labour are well overdue for a female leader, not another bloke. It's embarrassing that the other parties have managed it and they haven't.

Zonder · 18/02/2022 19:36

@KookaburraSits

Labour are well overdue for a female leader, not another bloke. It's embarrassing that the other parties have managed it and they haven't.
Who would you suggest?
Blossomtoes · 18/02/2022 19:38

Yvette Cooper would be a good shout.

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 18/02/2022 19:45

Yes Yvette cooper. I also liked Emily thingy. She had such a calm manner. Imagine her in charge of a pandemic instead of twat face.

Louisianagumbo · 18/02/2022 19:48

@LivingDeadGirlUK

I was really impressed with him during the pandemic, sticking up for Manchester, who were going to be given so much less cash per head than other (Tory or London) areas of the UK, in funding for businesses etc. I think he has done well as Mayor in a city that is predominantly labor voting, with the current government everything is a battle. My MP used to love taking pot shots at him (really useless ones that backfired every time) before he defected to labor.

If you watched the Mayoral debates (both this time and the first) he was so far above the other candidates it was like they had just dragged any old person in off the street, I'm not actually a labor voter so was really open to who I voted for but he was hands down the best candidate.

I'd like to see him in the leadership role but I'm not sure its what he wants. I think Keir is ok but he needs a bit more gusto.

He stuck up for Manchester? He refused to lockdown even though all of GMs hospitals were at the point of collapse and their doctors were begging him to lockdown. He refused a 60m offer of funding to hold out for 65m and so ended up 22m. And the govt locked down anyway. Brilliant!

Meanwhile in Liverpool, another Labour stronghold, the mayor accepted the offer from the govt and locked down. And Anderson went further he actively pursued the offer of having mass testing through his region. The result was from having the highest figures in the North West, they fell to the lowest. So you'd think Burnham would be supporting that, but no. Burnham in fact said that mass testing was a waste of time because they'd tried it in GM and it didn't work. Strange that it worked so well in Liverpool but Burnham couldn't make it work in GM.

I'm interested to hear about him doing well as the mayor. Give me some examples of what he's achieved. He's had six years so he must have achieved quite a few things by now.

When he was in govt, he never managed to hold a ministerial role for longer than a year. So if you think he wouldn't drop Manchester like a hot coal to be Labour leader, you have absolutely zero idea of who Andy Burnham is.

Tealightsandd · 18/02/2022 19:48

And yes there has always been areas of London that vote Tory but for some time now London has been a Labour voting city (being considered London centric has been an issues since Blair times)

Take a voter base for granted at your peril.

Blair was possibly London centric (in the same way that a vampire relates to his victim) but he sure as hell wasn't Londonder centric. That hasn't been a thing for decades. Very much the opposite.

Hopefully both Labour and the Conservatives will finally look to levelling up London soon. It's badly needed.

They may not care about Londoners, but would be ill advised to continue ignoring a massive voter base. Who knows, if they keep going, both could lose London. Just as Scotland went to the SNP (albeit with some resurged support for the Scottish Tories).

Tealightsandd · 18/02/2022 19:50

Andy (and Keir - and the Conservatives too) should read this excellent article by Omar Khan on the, as he says, lazy and reductive “London is cosmopolitan elite” narrative

citymonitor.ai/government/why-aren-t-working-class-people-living-cities-also-left-behind-4694

Even 72 people dying in the Grenfell Tower tragedy, a preventable fire which happened within sight of Parliament, hasn’t dislodged the dominant narrative of London as a leafy cosmopolitan elite bubble.

gluenotsoup · 18/02/2022 19:54

He’s my mayor. Not sure I would vote for him, not much has improved in things I feel strong about. But he does have fabulous eyelashes. ….

Louisianagumbo · 18/02/2022 19:56

@ExtraOnion
I live in Greater Manchester … I love our King of the North .. as do the huge percentage of people who voted for him.

16% of the electorate voted for him. It's not really huge, is it?

VikingLundyMalin · 18/02/2022 19:57

@AngelicaElizaAndPeggy

He's all kind of noble and fierce and stands up for the north. I think he's great.
Noble and fierce are not words I would use to describe Andy Burnham - what has he done to bring you to this conclusion?