Bromance Between Burnham and Rotheram
When Andy Burnham enters Downing Street as prime minister, observers typically look to cabinet members for influence. However, the closest personal bond may lie 200 miles north in Liverpool, with Steve Rotheram, the mayor of the Liverpool city region. Rotheram, whom Burnham calls his "bezzie mate," has no formal government role but enjoys a unique relationship with the incoming PM.
Rotheram, a former bricklayer who helped rebuild the Falklands after the 1982 war, served as MP for Liverpool Walton for seven years, including a stint as parliamentary aide to Jeremy Corbyn. In 2017, he convinced Burnham to leave Westminster for the newly created metro mayor posts in Manchester and Liverpool. Nine years later, Burnham is prime minister, sparking speculation about Rotheram's future.
Rotheram Dismisses Lords Speculation
Reports suggest mayors could be appointed to the House of Lords to make the upper chamber more representative. Rotheram dismissed this as "jokey" speculation. "I’m gonna be Lord Rotheram of Kirkby, I’m going to be the tsar of such-and-such, I’m going to be the devo minister – all these wonderful things. Great, I wish someone would tell me," he said. The 64-year-old has no intention of leaving the mayoralty, calling it the "pinch-me privilege of my life."
Rotheram quickly shot down the idea that his friendship with Burnham would bring special funding to Merseyside. "There’s a danger that [people] believe we can circumvent the system just because we’ve got a friendship, and that’s not gonna happen. This is public money," he said. He noted that the same rules preventing Boris Johnson from favoring his friends apply equally to prevent friendship from being the sole basis for project approvals.
Origins of the Political Bromance
The pair's bond dates to 2008, when Burnham, then Gordon Brown's culture secretary, met Rotheram, Liverpool's lord mayor, during the city's year as European capital of culture. Their friendship deepened after Rotheram followed Burnham to Parliament in 2010, becoming drinking buddies united by a shared feeling of being outsiders in Westminster. They spend time in each other's homes, and Burnham's wife, Marie-France van Heel, is friends with Sandra Rotheram. They attend gigs together, sharing a love of Manchester band Courteeners, whose song "Take Over the World" became the unofficial anthem of Burnham's failed 2015 leadership campaign, which Rotheram helped lead.
Hillsborough Disaster Cemented Friendship
The Hillsborough disaster was pivotal. Rotheram was at the FA Cup semi-final supporting Liverpool, while Burnham, an Everton fan, had friends at the ground. Together, they fought the decades-long battle for justice for the 97 victims and their families. In his first speech as Labour leader, Burnham name-checked Rotheram, promising to "take power back from Westminster and Whitehall and give it to the place where you live," extending the devolution agenda he oversaw in Greater Manchester. He cited Rotheram's ambition to bring the Merseyrail network into public ownership by 2028.
Devolution Demands from Mayors
Rotheram and other mayors want Burnham to go further on devolving powers over skills, especially technical education for 16- to 18-year-olds. Many have complained about difficulties dealing with the Department for Education in Whitehall. Under plans given to Burnham's team, mayors would appoint health and education commissioners to oversee local schools, GPs, and childcare providers, similar to police and crime commissioners. South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard believes Burnham could be "more radical than most people seem to think," stressing local public control of utilities like energy and water. This is "a moment to recognise that decisions over everything from planning, skills, education, business rates, growth, transport, health and much more, can be taken at a much more human scale," he said.
