The King of the North’s reputation as Manchester’s saviour is undeserved. He offers no solutions to any of Britain’s biggest problems Daily Telegraph 20/05/26 There are great political leaders, men of integrity and principle, and then there is Andy Burnham, that most over-hyped of Labour apparatchiks. There is no substance behind the fake bonhomie and easy charm, just more mediocrity, and yet his King of the North act appears to be taking in millions. One poll suggests he would propel Labour into the lead were he to become leader, a catastrophic development. Yet his achievements as mayor of Greater Manchester range from the grossly exaggerated to the non-existent. He has presided over a series of disasters, including wasting £100m on a Ulez-style assault on motorists and his police force being placed in special measures. His class-war-infused analysis of Britain’s problems is ahistoric and economically illiterate; his cod municipal socialism would kill off what is left of our pros...
Labour leadership frontrunner makes fifth policy reversal since becoming by-election candidate Daily Telegraph 28/05/26 Andy Burnham has dropped his support for migrants being given immediate access to benefits in the UK, in his latest about-turn on policy. Mr Burnham repeatedly voiced his opposition to the no recourse to public funds (NRPF) policy that bars migrants from the benefits system until they obtain permanent residence. But The Times reported that Mr Burnham’s team stated he no longer stood by the policy. NRPF has been UK policy since 1999, and means that migrants on work, study or family visas cannot access public funds such as housing support, Universal Credit or disability benefit. Only when a foreign citizen has been granted indefinite leave to remain (ILR), allowing them to live, study and work in the UK permanently, is the ban on benefits lifted. The Mayor of Greater Manchester still features a call on his website from 2019 calling on Boris Johnson, then prime ...