“Reform will try to turn frustration into division. Labour must answer with policy, purpose and delivery. Greater Manchester deserves a mayor who builds on Mr Burnham’s legacy, not one who lets Farage’s party tear it down”
Outgoing Manchester mayor Andy Burnham leaves behind more than a vacancy. He leaves a record of trust Labour cannot assume will simply transfer to his successor.
Candidate Bev Craig is right; she has big shoes to fill. Greater Manchester has long been a Labour heartland, a place built on work, solidarity and progress. But no party owns a city, and must never behave as though it does.
Mr Burnham’s huge 63 per cent victory in 2024 showed his personal appeal. It did not give Labour a permanent lease on power. With Reform just three points behind in one poll, the mayoral by-election on July 30 will be a real fight. And it will be a bitter one.
Reform will try to turn frustration into division. Labour must answer with policy, purpose and delivery. Greater Manchester deserves a mayor who builds on Mr Burnham’s legacy, not one who lets Farage’s party tear it down.
‘Warning siren’
Britain cannot go on treating Downing Street like a revolving door.
Voters are set for their seventh prime minister in ten years. That is not bad luck. It is a warning siren from a broken political culture.
Brexit tore through old loyalties. The pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis raised expectations of the government.
Yet too many leaders entered Downing Street wanting the job more clearly than they knew what to do with it. The country is not ungovernable. It is tired of drift, slogans and prime ministers without a plan.
The next leader will inherit anger, impatience and exhausted public trust. Empathy will matter, but it will not be enough. Britain needs direction, discipline and a story people can believe.
‘The brink’
England go into Saturday’s final World Cup group game with Panama with reasons to believe.
A win and a draw have put the Three Lions on the brink of progressing as group winners, but now is the time to sharpen up. The group stage opens the door. The knockout rounds is where the tournament really begins.
Good luck, boys.
