A mother has described her emotional reaction to Andy Burnham becoming Prime Minister, after he struck up a friendship with her autistic son, Joe. Julie Simpson said Mr Burnham "opened doors" that allowed her to help design a sensory room at Everton's new Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Personal Delivery of Letter
When Mr Burnham was shadow health secretary, he personally delivered a letter from Julie to the club's CEO asking for greater provisions for people with autism at Goodison Park. He has stayed in touch with the family ever since.
First Ever Match
Mr Burnham was pictured with Joe, 22, when he watched his first ever match from the sensory room at the stadium last August. Julie, 57, said: "I was made up when he came Prime Minister because we've met him, I felt a bit emotional. I was dead proud and I felt hopeful."
She added: "I actually felt nervous for him because I didn't want people to be trolling him online and saying nasty things. I know he's nice. I texted him to ask how he was finding it and he said 'I'm really loving it'."
Input into Stadium Plans
After Mr Burnham put Julie in touch with Toffees CEO Denise Barrett-Baxendale, she and husband Stephen, 61, were invited to have input into plans that led to a sensory room and box at the stadium. Joe could never go to a game at Goodison because it would have been too loud for him.
When the club held its first full capacity game – a pre-season friendly against Roma last year – Joe was able to attend for the first time with his father, a lifelong Evertonian. Julie said: "When you have kids, you have hopes that one day they might be able to play for the club you love. But you never think they'll never be able to go the match."
On the day of the Roma game, Andy waited over an hour to see the family. Julie noted: "He hadn't seen Joe for a while and now he was 22. He'd never been to the match with his dad and I think Andy was really touched by that because his son is a similar age and goes the matches with him."
Longstanding Support
Julie first contacted Mr Burnham after Joe was diagnosed with autism. He invited the family to his constituency office in Leigh and helped put her in touch with the local council. She later set up Autism Adventures, a community interest company, of which Mr Burnham is a patron. He once invited youngsters to his office to interview him when he was Mayor of Greater Manchester.
During the Covid pandemic, Mr Burnham continued to check on the family and even had a Zoom call with them before meeting with Health Secretary Matt Hancock to discuss the tier system. Julie said: "He's very generous with his time. He genuinely cares about people."
Mr Burnham officially became Prime Minister last Monday. The lifelong Evertonian has told the club he wants to keep his seat in the South Stand.
