Andy Burnham interview

Andy Burnham

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Andy Burnham MP was back in Rochdale last night to meet members of Rochdale Constituency Labour Party as part of his bid to become the Labour Party candidate for the Greater Manchester Mayoral election.

Prior to addressing a packed room at Rochdale Labour Club on Oldham Road, Mr Burnham was interviewed by Rochdale Online.

We asked him why he thought he should be Labour’s candidate rather than Tony Lloyd or Ivan Lewis, the other two declared candidates.

He described Mr Lloyd and Mr Lewis as “good friends” and said he would not be drawn into criticism of either of them, he preferred, he explained, to “focus on positives” and said he felt his “wealth of experience as a government minister” would make him the best candidate.

The role of Mayor will be a crucial one in determining if the Government’s so-called ‘Northern Powerhouse’ is to become a reality.

Mr Burnham not only accepts that a tough stance is going to be needed to ensure the role does not simply become just another pointless layer of government, he says he “relishes the opportunity”.

“I have been an MP for 15 years”, he said, and “I have the skills and experience to take on this unique role and make the Northern Powerhouse a reality.”

He added: “I have a track record that shows I am the best candidate for the role. Along with my ministerial experience, I worked to help the families of the victims of Hillsborough, and I would also ask people to look at the work I have done as MP in Leigh.”

Mr Burnham, a Co-op member for the past 15 years and a co-founder of Supporters Direct, an organisation that helps fans to set up democratic cooperatives, says he has “co-operative values at heart” and if elected “would put those values into practice in a modern way”. For example, he explained: “I would like to see an expansion of community energy generation to challenge the big six and make energy more affordable. I would look at Germany and the schemes there and seek to set up similar schemes on estates throughout Greater Manchester.”

He sees policies on transport, housing and social care as the highest priority.

With the roads in most of Greater Manchester operating well beyond capacity at peak times he said he recognises the need to resolve what has become a major problem in the region. He agreed that the current situation is not sustainable and something must be done to reduce the number of cars on the roads.

His solution is to build a “modern high speed rail system”, one he said that would span the region and also link the major northern towns.

The current “dysfunctional housing market” would be tackled, he said. “We can see the results of the current problem all around us, increasing homelessness, young people unable to buy a house, insecure tenancies, absent landlords who hike rents but don’t care about the state of the houses they are charging people to live in.”

The Greater Manchester Mayor will get a £300millon fund as part of the ‘devolution’ deal and Mr Burnham’s radical idea is to use this fund to “buy out private landlords”.

He said he would work in partnership with the ten councils in Greater Manchester to oversee a major expansion of social housing in the region with “affordable rents”.

His other radical plans include bringing care workers into the NHS and attempting to integrate social care from cradle to grave.

Mr Burnham also wants to give all 16 to 18-year-olds in Greater Manchester a free bus pass and a bring about a recognition that technical education is as valid a pathway for young people as university.

Asked to sum up his vision for the future of Greater Manchester and Rochdale's role within it, he said: “We need a strategy for the whole of Greater Manchester, not just the city of Manchester. It is crucial money and resources goes to the towns that need it most and that investors are incentivised to bring businesss and jobs to towns like Rochdale. If elected I would work to make that happen.”