How long do you give Andy Burnham as PM?

[AndyBurnham2L]

Build ‘em up.
Knock ‘em down.

Short honeymoon and then the grumbling will start. It will all be over for him by Christmas.

So, who’s next?

Oh yes, no word on immigration in his big speech. He's been spared negotiating defence, for now. However, there's no escaping the main issue, for many of the electorate, after cost of living.

It's Manchester

The days of horse and cart are long over.

Does nobody here go beyond the 'Watford Gap'?

There's a world beyond the north and south.

You wouldn't say it going by the amount of whinging about Manchester.

The north is a thin line across the middle of the country according to Burnham, he probably thinks I live in the south because it's below Manchester and we don't get much rain, (Northants)

That’s Burnham’s problem. He thinks like the provincial mayor of a small city. At some point he will have to stop talking about bus fares and grapple with the actual business of national government.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/migrants-detected-crossing-the-english-channel-in-small-boats/migrants-detected-crossing-the-english-channel-in-small-boats-last-7-days

It’s not a gimmick no, but it’s so he doesn’t need to move, and it will cost a small fortune, my daughter is up there at the moment and the police are all over where he is in the centre, next to her office, there will need to be staff moves, additional security the lot.

it will be costing us millions so he doesn’t need to spend more time than he absolutely has to in London.

this isn’t about helping Manchester, this is about his convenience

Must be true if the government says so! Honestly people are so gullible.

Because, like I and many people have explained the infrastructure is already being built so it won’t cost a lot of money. In fact investing in north Manchester will continue to regenerate an area that was, and still is to an extent, extremely poor.
Those of you claiming it will have an enormous cost, no it won’t. Why Manchester, the infrastructure is being built. Manchester is an hour away from Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield and Birmingham the largest U.K. urban centres outside London. It is actually really obvious.
AB has also spoken about other areas of the country that are being ignored.

It's also about being bold; that's what his impetus is.

And some people are so deep in their own prejudice they refuse to accept facts.

They are when they don't want to believe the data.

Facts can be so inconvenient.

When he moves into the new offices that cost will diminish.
On one hand we claim politicians are out of touch, we moan about the London bubble, they don’t know what it’s like for real people. Then when a politician tries to keep in touch with his constituency and his base, a place where people will tell it like it is, people complain about that.

At least the space can be repurposed once the next government gets in. Probably good for a call centre of regional office of HmRC, that sort of thing.

Several offices are being built. It’s a real opportunity for civil servants across the north of England, it’s very commutable being near Piccadilly station. Hopefully, there will be more senior jobs available. Most civil servants can’t afford to work in London, which means candidates for big jobs often come from people with money or with family in London. This widens the candidates pool massively. Also, no London weighting will save money on wages.

Yes, but most people don’t want to move to Manchester. At least not from the south. I am starting to see the obvious similarities between Andy Burnham and the city of Manchester. Both very average, but with vastly inflated opinions of their own importance and capabilities.

I wasn’t talking about people from the south moving up! Exactly the opposite in fact. I was talking about the many, many really talented people who can’t afford to move south. People whose parents don’t own expensive houses or who don’t have wealthy relatives to fund mortgages. I was talking about people from many areas of the north who can now apply for senior cabinet level jobs. Also, all the really talented people from Wales, the South west or North East who can’t afford to move to London but could afford to move to Manchester.
Hopefully, the existing people DON’T move up. Hopefully, a wide range of other people from other places can get a voice in government. Widen the base of the civil service so it reflects the country.

Look if you want to insult AB and Manchester go for it, but this countries wealth was founded in Manchester. The Industrial Revolution started there. That work ethic could do the country the world of good and if you want to stay down south and insult us please stay there.

Thanks for this and it is far less than I would have thought - with the weather we've been having. It is complicated but I hope that Starmer will be given credit for the extensive talks, and funding, with the French.

Re: the civil service relocations. Remember, the Starmer government were also doing this as well:

The government wants to create three new regional campuses, one in Manchester focused on digital innovation and AI and a second in Aberdeen focused on energy. The third location is yet to be announced.
Manchester is already home to major offices of the science and culture departments, while Aberdeen houses the new Great British Energy headquarters. (BBC 14 May 2025)

Added to the above two important issues - what I shared earlier about the dire situation in prisons, that would have been inherited by anyone winning the GE in 2024, so that is why the early releases had to be put through Parliament.

About time Starmer got credit for hard work and decisions in difficult times.

The other thing I should have mentioned is the enormous chip on the shoulder that Burnham exhibits and that is apparent every time someone from Manchester or the north posts anything. We ignore London at our peril. It is an absolute powerhouse that funds the nation. Manchesterism is a gimmick and a sideshow.

Starmer should have been given more time to deliver his agenda. We’ll start see the fruits of his work in the coming months, but unfortunately Burnham will take the credit.

We have been experiencing ghe fruits of his work already, we don’t need to wait for it to get worse, it’s already bad enough,

He’ll be fine, I doubt Starmer is reflecting on why he was ousted. Labour changing leader will give them a chance.

I’m not the chippy one insulting people and regions and saying they don’t want to come north 😉 calling the nations second city a ‘gimmick’. Obviously, London remains the capital and the centre of government that is as it should be be. We are discussing widening the base, opening opportunities. It’s not either or it can be both. Many countries have federal devolved systems, with government spread over regions, Germany being a prime example.
You need to open your mind to opportunities.

I thought only the gullible believed the figures?