Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, has repeatedly faced accusations that he is anti-London. During his almost ten-year tenure, he has suggested his region gets overlooked for investment in favour of the capital and that northerners “face discrimination” in the city. Mr Burnham is favourite to win the Makerfield by-election on Thursday and return to parliament, where he is expected to launch a leadership challenge to Sir Keir Starmer.
Since May 2015 when Harriet Harman (then Camberwell and Peckham MP) was installed as acting Labour leader, the party has been led by an MP representing a London constituency. Harold Wilson, from Huddersfield, is the only Labour prime minister born in the north. The city has been described as "the new Red Wall", with Labour winning 59 of the capital's 75 constituencies at the 2024 general election. This dominance was challenged at the local elections last month when Sir Keir Starmer lost control of half the London councils it represented amid the surge of the Green Party. The loss of eleven London town halls, along with hundreds of councillors in other parts of England, plummeted Sir Keir’s leadership into jeopardy with a number of Labour MPs breaking rank to call on the Prime Minister to quit.
Both Mr Burnham and former health secretary and Ilford North MP Wes Streeting have said they would stand in a fight to replace the PM, but neither have confirmed whether they would trigger such a contest. Here is what Mr Burnham has previously said about the capital.
‘Fury’ over transport spending
Mr Burnham has frequently pointed out what he sees as disparity between the way the north is funded compared to London and the south, particularly when it comes to transport. He hit out at projects, such as Crossrail, being approved for the capital while northern schemes faced cutbacks and delays. The government should not underestimate "the fury" people in the north feel when they hear transport plans for their area have been changed, while Crossrail 2 was announced in London, he said in 2017. Six years later he described it as "pretty insulting" when funding meant to replace cancelled northern high-speed links were branded as "Network North" while some of the cash was earmarked for London roads.
‘Northerners can face discrimination in London’
Mr Burnham has previously criticised prime ministers for being upper class and claimed that northerners can “face discrimination” in the capital. When asked by GQ whether there was a different mentality between northerners and southerners in 2019, he said: "I believe so. I feel that northerners face discrimination in certain walks of life in London. How many Labour prime ministers have come from the north of England? [One: Harold Wilson] And, yes, I think that we are different."
‘I don’t slag off London’
Mr Burnham was in 2021 forced to deny he "slags off" London when calling for better treatment for his own region. Sir Sadiq Khan had made comments suggesting that his Manchester counterpart used the capital as a punching bag when demanding more for his city. "One of the things we have got to do is remind our friends from the North, in our own party, why London-bashing, talking London down, is not a sensible way to have a national recovery," Sir Sadiq told Labour conference. "The message to those in our party who think it plays well slagging off London is you will not get a national recovery without a London recovery." Asked about the remarks, Mr Burnham said: "I in many ways praise London. It has a public transport system that's brilliant." But he argued northern regions needed more investment to boost employment and public service. "People are hurting," he added. "They need help and something to lift them."
‘London set have run Labour for too long’
In the run up to the Makerfield by-election, Mr Burnham has criticised Westminster politics and said Labour has been run by a “London set” for “too long”. The UK is on a path towards the “poisonous” politics of the US under the current Labour leadership, he has said. "I'm not coming here saying Labour's great. I'm saying Labour's not been good enough and it needs to change to get back to a party that listens to people," he told the Observer. "The London set have run it for too long."
London business chiefs have issued a warning to Manchester mayor and other would-be Labour leadership contenders not to “take London for granted”. Muniya Barua, deputy chief executive of business group BusinessLDN, stressed that the window to boost economic growth in Britain before the next general election, expected in 2029, is “closing fast”. “For too long, the main political parties have taken London for granted,” she said. “In part, this was because the city was seen as politically settled: Labour dominating in recent times, with the Conservatives and Lib Dems performing strongly in parts of the city but unlikely to make major inroads. None of the major parties were incentivised to focus on London. Last month’s results change that: London is now back in play.”
