Andy Burnham wants to bring the ‘Greater Manchester way’ to Westminster

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Andy Burnham has set out his vision for the country if he is to become Prime Minister.

In case you need brining up to speed first, after it was announced earlier this month that Andy Burnham had clinched the victory in the crucial Makerfield by-election, winning 24,927 votes (54.8% vote share) and a majority of 9,231, he then went onto announce his intention to run for Labour Party leader, and therefore Prime Minister, after Keir Starmer confirmed he would be stepping down.

And this week, Mr Burnham has now delivered his first speech as part of his ongoing campaign, addressing how he plans to give the country a ‘new direction’.

Burnham says that he wants to bring the ‘Greater Manchester way’ to Westminster.

A lot has been discussed and reported on when it comes to Burnham’s intentions to create a so-called Number 10 North here in Manchester, but what exactly does it mean to take the ‘Greater Manchester way’ to the capital?

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“The Greater Manchester way is based on strong partnership between all sectors: public, private,
community, voluntary, academic, faith, and our trade unions,” Burnham said in his speech.

He continued: “When I started as Mayor in 2017, we set about building a new approach, a new politics based on the exact opposite of the Westminster approach.

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“Place-first, not party-first. Problem-solving, not point-scoring. Long-term, not short-term.

“A decade on, it’s incredible how much we’ve been able to achieve by working together instead
of fighting against one another.”

Burnham said he feels the truth is that the country spends ‘too much time arguing and not enough time doing’ and that for Britain to get back where it ‘should be’, his Government would ask everyone to ‘face the same way’ and then ‘pull in that same direction together’.

He declared that No 10 North will be the ‘nerve centre’ for a rewired Britain.

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“It will be the conduit through which we redistribute power and resources across the UK,” he concluded. “It will coordinate all parts of Government, at national and local level, to agree a long-term
economic strategy and help all places set new growth ambitions.”

Featured Image – GMCA


Stockport bar that took a chance on Underbanks announces shock closure

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Stockport bar The Cracked Actor that took a chance on Underbanks announces shock closure

A bar owner who was called ‘mad’ for opening his business at The Underbanks in Stockport has announced he’s closing down for good.

The Cracked Actor was launched by actor Joe Patten back in 2019, long before the Underbanks was considered one of the coolest districts in Greater Manchester.

Joe said he ‘saw the beauty in those bricks’ and took a chance on the unit on Little Underbank, transforming it into a Victorian-inspired blues bar.

And although other operators told him he was ‘mad for opening anything on that street’, Joe proved everyone wrong, and The Cracked Actor became a real Stockport favourite.

Sadly, he has now announced that The Cracked Actor will be closing its doors in just a few weeks’ time.

Joe said that he wants the business to ‘go out at its height’, stressing that ‘it’s not a sad note we are closing The Cracked Actor – it’s more of a thank you for getting me all I had dreamed of’.

He wants to focus his attention on other projects, like The Banshee and Holy Diver.

His full statement reads: “So Stockport, its taken a long old time to make this decision. But some things have to end on a high. And boy its been a whirlwind.

“The Cracked Actor was my first bar in Stockport and has always weathered the storm. Sadly, these days I have a lot going on. And some things take away from the attention I can pay to my little bar. I want to call time on The Cracked Actor and go out at its height. It’s odd as I have always defended this bar against everything it came up against in this climate. I thought I would always pass this bar down to my kids.

“But it feels the right time to call time. This bar got me on the map and its opened the doors to soo much more that came afterwards. We now have The Bansbee and Holy Diver and exciting opportunities are always pulling me away from where I started.

“I want to focus on whats next and make sure what I’m doing has my full attention. So it’s not a sad note we are closing The Cracked Actor, it’s more of a thank you for getting me all I had dreamed of the day it opened.

“When I opened the bar 7 years ago every bar owner called me mad for opening anything on that street. Now its booming with bars that have come after wards. Some times you just gotta see the beauty in those bricks.

“I want to pay a massive thank you to my fiance Amy, whome without this bar would have closed 4 years ago. She took to it and saw how much it meant to me. And her Aiden and Oliver bought it back from a slump. Shes bought it back to all its glory and made it better than I ever could have,working endless hours.

“I want to thank all my customers many of of them who have been coming since day one Gary. TeJ & Gary, Boby Dylan, Simon and Ash, to name a few.

“We will be open for the next Two weeks to have a massive send of. And our final day to public will be Saturday 11th July. With a private send of on 12th.”

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Featured image: Instagram, @the_cracked_actor

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