A personal story to attest to Andy Burnham’s character…
We had some visa issues when travelling to the US for SXSW in 2023. We contacted his office and he personally escalated it to two staff (shout out Maria and Tom) who got us sorted via their contacts at US immigration within a couple of hours.
We were performing on the GMMC stage on our first day there, met with him to say thanks. Cheekily asked could he also sort us guestlist to the New Order show that night. Lo and behold, also sorted that for us within a couple of hours.
All round good bloke, nothing but respect for him.
🐝
Good riddance to Guardiola. Cheat as a player, cheat as a manager.
That interview when he was trying to cry over Aguero summed him up, the weird, fake cunt.
Can’t wait to see which perennially underachieving and skint side he takes over next.
I can confirm that I will be requesting the permission of the NEC to stand in the Makerfield by-election.
I grew up in this area and have lived here for 25 years. I care deeply about it and its people. I know they have been let down by national politics.
Ten years ago, I decided to leave Westminster. Why? Because, after 16 years, I came to the conclusion that our national political system does not work for areas like ours. I learnt this fighting its failure to invest in the Wigan borough, for justice for the Hillsborough families and against its treatment of Greater Manchester during the pandemic.
Over the last decade, I have been challenging this failure from the outside and building a new and better way of doing politics. We have built Greater Manchester into the fastest-growing city-region in the UK and put buses back under public control, introducing a £2 fare cap to help people with cost-of-living pressures.
However, there is only so much that can be done from Greater Manchester. Much bigger change is needed at a national level if everyday life is to be made more affordable again. This is why I now seek people’s support to return to Parliament: to bring the change we have brought to Greater Manchester to the whole of the UK and make politics work properly for people.
Millions are struggling and they need the Labour Government to succeed. It has already made changes to make life better for them in its first two years. After this week, we owe it to people to come back together as a Labour movement, giving the Prime Minister and the Government the space and stability they need as the by-election takes place.
I want to recognise the difficult decision taken by Josh Simons and the sacrifice he and his family are making. I have worked closely with him as Mayor on issues like flooding and illegal waste dumping and have seen first-hand how effective he has been. He has put the communities of Makerfield first, made a real difference for them and should take great pride in that.
Finally, I truly do not take a single vote for granted and will work hard to regain the trust of people in the Makerfield constituency, many of whom have long supported our party but lost faith in recent times. We will change Labour for the better and make it a party you can believe in again.
ENDS
TONIGHT: Local legends IST IST are taking to the stage for their highly-anticipated, biggest-ever homecoming show!
Doors: 6:30pm
@TheYouthPlay: 6:50pm
@DespJournalist: 7:45pm
@ISTISTmusic: 9pm
Curfew: 11pm
Last few tickets: https://t.co/pyM8264hBu
Enjoy the show!
@jontranslates Not having him at all. Don’t see him as anything other than a bench player. Had a brief purple patch last season and everyone seems to have given him a free pass ever since