Andy Burnham ‘taking voters for mugs’ as Manchester mayor’s roots face | Politics | News
Locals began to question Andy Burnham’s working-class roots as he bid for number 10. The 56-year-old politician, who has been Mayor of Manchester since 2017, is expected to challenge Keir Starmer for the Labor leadership, meaning he is fast becoming a household name across the country. Burnham has spoken of her Manchester roots in the past but some have suggested they are not fully convinced.
Enid Hill, 78, a local woman, said she believed Burnham was “taking us for fools”. He told the Daily Mail: “I may have been born into the council but I’m not stupid. He’s obviously not from around here. Where he comes from, where he grew up, is very posh.”
One of Enid’s neighbors in Park View described Culcheth, where Burnham grew up, as “a different world”.
It comes after Burnham, who is aiming to become a Labor MP for Makerfield in next month’s by-election, was spotted filming a campaign video on their street by Enid and neighbors.
Locals in the town of Culcheth said: Daily Mail Burnham’s house was one of the most beautiful houses in the village. The work, which has undergone many changes since Andy Burnham lived there in his youth, is now worth over £1 million.
Local resident Ian Riley said of the politician who is set to replace Keir Starmer as Prime Minister: “They’re a good family. I bumped into Andy in Sainsbury’s when he was still in government and it was nice of him to address me as ‘Hello sir’.”
“I don’t agree with his policies but I think he is the right man to lead the Labor Party.”
Another said: “The Burnham brothers weren’t exactly street urchins. I remember Andy walking into the village green with his cricket bat.”
A recent YouGov poll showed 31% of Britons thought Burnham looked like a prime minister-in-waiting, while 27% disagreed.
Some of the respondents to this survey shared their thoughts on Burnham. One of them said: “He comes from a humble background, sees poor and deprived areas and how this affects wider society and wants to change that. He is in touch with people, in touch with reality and does not live in a fantasy world.”
Another shared: “Andy Burnham is typical of modern politicians who put style and personality before belief in what they represent.”
