Prime Minister Andy Burnham described Liverpool, the city of his birth, as "a really special place" as he arrived ahead of delivering his first Labour Party Conference speech as the nation's leader.
The ECHO joined Mr Burnham aboard the new £26m Mersey Ferry on Saturday, travelling along the river to the Hill Dickinson Stadium, home of his beloved Everton. Earlier in the day, he had arrived at the city's Arena and Convention Centre, where the party conference is getting underway this weekend.
A proud return to his roots
Speaking on the state-of-the-art ferry, the latest version of an iconic vessel he travelled on as a child, the Prime Minister spoke of his love for the city where he was born and his pride at returning as the nation's leader. "Special is the word. I can't help but feel the pride," he told the ECHO.
He added: "I have lots of reasons to be thinking about my family, my dad passed away recently and my grandad, who drove a lorry down the docks. I was just saying as I walked up to the conference today, what would he have made of me doing this now? I don't think he would have been able to comprehend it. So it is a very, very special and proud moment."
Mr Burnham was born in Aintree before his family moved to Culcheth near Warrington when he was a small child. His family heritage in the city dates back to the late 1800s when his ancestors emigrated to Liverpool from Drogheda in Ireland.
Momentum and regeneration
Asked about the city's characteristics that shaped him and his politics, he said: "It is the unique character of it, the spirit of it, the people - it has something that is just unique. I said this in the House of Commons when we passed the Hillsborough Law - in the end, the values of this city have become the values of the country, because of the way the city never gives up, the way it knows right from wrong in a way some other places don't in quite the same way. The way people stick together here, it is something isn't it? It is a character that is pretty unique."
He added: "It has shaped me, my family, my politics, everything really. This city is a really special place."
Mr Burnham was joined on the ferry by Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey and Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram, a close friend and ally. The former Greater Manchester Mayor praised Mayor Rotheram for building "real momentum" in the city region, where growth is now outpacing the national average. The three men discussed plans for a Mayoral Development Corporation in the city, signed off by the Combined Authority this week, which will drive a huge regeneration of the city's northern docks and beyond.
The Prime Minister said: "What I can feel in the city now is momentum and Steve has created it. I'll be honest it has taken longer. I was lucky, I inherited a Manchester that was already on the up - but Steve has done this, he has got something happening here that is really, unbelievably brilliant to see."
He added: "For most of my life Liverpool was growing slower than the rest of the country, the gap was getting bigger. I remember coming on this ferry when I was a kid, looking down there, it was not a pretty sight. There was dereliction and decay. So to come on (the ferry) today, you just see the potential for growth - it is a brilliant success story that will keep on progressing, with new chapters that will keep opening, it is good to see."
Conference begins
The Chancellor agreed, telling the ECHO: "I have been back in Liverpool off and on for nearly 30 years, I have seen it when times were really tough, but the special spirit of Liverpool, the spark, the resilience, the determined enterprise here, that means however tough it is, they will get through it and get beyond it."
He added: "The fact we now have Steve Rotheram here in Liverpool and this place growing faster than the rest of the country, you have got a Labour government ready to stand and push power and resources here and we will accelerate that."
The Labour Party Conference begins in earnest on Sunday. The Chancellor's keynote speech will take place on Monday, followed by the Prime Minister on Tuesday. The ECHO will have full coverage throughout the event.
