From Greater Manchester to Downing Street? Burnham's next move divides voters

It was an odd twist of fate that Andy Burnham said his goodbyes to staff at his former office in Manchester this morning at the same time as Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his resignation live to the nation.

The new Makerfield MP is starting a journey that will likely end up with him running the country in Downing Street, while the current Prime Minister held back tears announcing his exit.

Shortly after Andy Burnham finished an ‘emotional’ speech at the offices of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, he took a short journey across town to Piccadilly train station where a media scrum lay in wait.

It’s a journey that the Makerfield MP will make regularly on the train down to Westminster, having left behind the job of Greater Manchester mayor that he held for nearly a decade.

And out on the streets of Manchester, there was a mix of views about Andy Burnham’s return to Parliament, and what it could mean for Greater Manchester and the country.

“I think he’s just looking out for himself,” said 62-year-old William Hanna (pictured below), a teacher who lives in the city centre.

“Why give someone a job if he’s just going to leave?”

He was referring to Mr Burnham not finishing his term as mayor before making a return to Parliament, and now running to be the next Labour leader.
William said he thinks Andy Burnham had work to finish in Manchester, and didn’t have any sympathy for the Makerfield MP making a push for the country’s top job.

He added: “Look at the problems in Manchester we’ve got, people at the age of 30 can’t get a council house, my niece is 30, she needs to be in town for work, and she’s working three jobs just to pay the rent.

“There are working class areas which need more council houses.”

William’s friend, 52-year-old Gavin Jupp, a librarian, was also upset at losing Andy Burnham as Greater Manchester mayor.

He said: “He was the last person I thought would abandon us, it’s shocking, he’s gone now there’s a better job offer, I think it’s disgusting.

“The whole thing is a circus. I used to be a Labour voter but I’m Reform now.”

Andy Burnham’s return to Parliament came after a gruelling campaign in Makerfield, a constituency just south of Wigan.

It is an area where Reform UK swept to victory in the local elections in May, winning 24 out of 25 seats up for grabs.

On paper, it should have been a close race. But the ‘Andy Burnham factor’ helped sway the by-election Labour’s way, with the party winning easily against Reform UK candidate Rob Kenyon by a margin of nearly 10,000 votes, double the majority won by former MP Josh Simons in 2024.

And while the new Makerfield MP was racing down to London on the West Coast Main Line this morning, many people at St Peter’s Square in Manchester city centre said they were right behind Andy Burnham’s bid to become the country’s next Prime Minister.

Oliver Green (pictured below), 56, said: “I think Andy Burnham will do a better job than Keir Starmer did, I think he will get more people voting for Labour again.
“I want to see changes happening like water being renationalised, and all the utilities.”

Could Andy Burnham becoming Prime Minister bring frustrated voters back to Labour? Oliver reckoned so.

He added: “I stopped voting Labour for many years, I couldn’t stand Tony Blair and considered voting Lib Dem, but if Andy Burnham gets in and has a massive cabinet change, it’s different.

“I’d like to go back to it, I just don’t want red Tories in charge of the party.”

Others were positive about what Andy Burnham as Prime Minister could mean for Manchester and the north too.

Sarah Bleasdale (pictured below), 58, is a self-employed childminder, and said: “We gave Keir Starmer a chance, so we need to give Andy Burnham a chance too.

“Does he know much about small businesses? Because they are really struggling at the moment.

“I’m self-employed as a childminder, and there’s so much red tape and paperwork for the finances of it, it makes it really hard for us.”

Sarah’s daughter Molly Brierley, 26, works at a betting shop and added: “We need to give Andy Burnham a chance, he could be going down there to help us.

“He’ll need time, it’s hard to get things done straight away, but we need to see practical changes that will make people’s lives better.

“That’s what will make people vote for Labour again, if Andy Burnham can do that.”

Sarah pointed out that Andy Burnham is leaving Greater Manchester at a time when the region is facing major challenges, especially around housing.

She said: “There needs to be more support for the homeless, like accommodation and services, because it’s not just down and out people who are struggling.”

With Andy Burnham in London securing support for his bid for Downing Street, an election for the next Greater Manchester mayor is getting underway.

A date of July 30 has been set for the race to find a replacement for Andy Burnham, for someone to get the top job in Greater Manchester and one of the most important political posts in the country.

Big changes are on the way both here and in Westminster.