Andy Burnham has admitted that he wouldn’t rule out running for leader of the Labour party “one day” in the future.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester appeared on Sky News this morning to discuss his future career ambitions with presenter Kay Burley in an interview that also touched on his calls to bring utility companies back into public ownership to help tackle the cost of living crisis, his criticism of the two Conservative party leadership contenders for “promising more Thatcherism” if they become Prime Minister, and more.
Mr Burnham said he would consider another attempt at becoming Labour leader and Prime Minister “one day” if it was “something people would support”, but added that this wouldn’t be any time soon and stuck by his commitment to serve his second term as Greater Manchester mayor.
“Not now because we’ve got a leader of the Labour Party who is providing leadership in the cost of living crisis,” he explained.
“Just being honest, in the future? You know, I’ve said I will serve my full second term as mayor of Manchester, [but] if at some point way beyond the point where we are… that was something that was a possibility, I would consider it.
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“But I’m just focussed on what I’m doing right now.”
The mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has given one of his strongest signals yet that he could be interested in leading the Labour Party, should the possibility arise.
Mr Burnham’s interview with Sky News comes after he recently held a number of talks with bosses at Avanti West Coast over the rail provider’s slashing of services to and from London, and after the dates for the introduction of Greater Manchester’s £2 bus ticket price cap were announced.
Away from “being honest” about his future, Mr Burnham also called on the government to make urgent changes to the way utility companies provide “essential services” to the public as the cost of living crisis continues to make its impact felt nationwide, and admitted that he feels there is “certainly a case” for more “public control and more public ownership of essential utilities”.
He then praised Keir Starmer’s cost of living policy of freezing energy bills as “a good start”.
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Mr Burnham said the cost of living crisis is on “the scale of which we’ve not faced before,” and added that it will “require politicians to do different things, to intervene in markets, to protect people.”
Should energy companies be nationalised?
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham says Thatcherite privatisation, that the Tory leadership candidates want to continue, has created "chaos" on trains, unaffordable bus fares and raw sewage on beaches.https://t.co/PAiZ4D1jU3pic.twitter.com/b6nRZk223L
He then appealed to MPs to work with one another to find a solution.
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
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Police warn criminals ‘don’t bother’ attending Parklife after already making arrest
Daisy Jackson
Greater Manchester Police have said that criminals shouldn’t ‘bother’ coming to Parklife festival this weekend, after already making an arrest at the festival site.
Officers have been carrying out searches of people arriving on site this week – and have already arrested a 24-year-old man.
A quantity of pills and a knife were both recovered from the man, who has been arrested on suspicion of possession of Class A drugs and possession of a bladed article.
After the arrest, Superintendent Phil Spurgeon issued a statement to criminals, saying ‘don’t bother coming to Parklife’.
He said: “We have a really robust police and partnership community safety operation for the festival, and the arrest and seizure yesterday demonstrates the vigilance of security staff, our thorough search procedures and our commitment to keeping people safe.
Parklife Festival, and (right) the suspected Class A drugs seized this week by police. Credit: GMP
“Make no mistake, illegal items such as weapons and drugs can have fatal consequences. Our top priority this weekend is keeping people safe, and anyone caught trying to take such items into the festival will be robustly dealt with.
“I hope the genuine festival-goers are excited for the fantastic weekend ahead and I am confident the majority will enjoy the event responsibly and safely.”
Greater Manchester Police and Parklife security staff will be working closely together to intercept anyone travelling to the festival with criminal intentions.
The arrest on 8 June was thanks to the festival’s drug detection dogs.
University of Manchester hit by cyber attack with ‘data likely copied’ by unauthorised party
Emily Sergeant
The University of Manchester (UoM) has confirmed that it has today become “the victim of a cyber incident”.
In a formal statement addressing the situation, the city‘s flagship further education institution says some of its systems have been accessed by an “unauthorised party” and that data has “likely been copied” as a result of this.
The University’s in-house experts are said to be “working around the clock” to resolve the issue.
External support teams are also said to be working in collaboration with the University to understand what data has been accessed.
Patrick Hackett – Registrar, Secretary, and Chief Operating Officer at the University of Manchester – explained in a statement issued this morning: “Regrettably, I have to share with you the news that the University is the victim of a cyber incident, [as] it has been confirmed that some of our systems have been accessed by an unauthorised party and data have likely been copied.
“Our in-house experts and established expert external support are working around the clock to resolve this incident, and we are working to understand what data has been accessed”.
— The University of Manchester (@OfficialUoM) June 9, 2023
Mr Hackett said he understands the nature of the issue will “cause concern to members of our community”, and says the University is “very sorry for this”.
The University says it is also working with relevant authorities – including the Information Commissioner’s Office, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the National Crime Agency, and other regulatory bodies – to resolve the issue, and will provide information to those affected as soon as they are able to.
Students and staff are also be told to be vigilant to any suspicious phishing emails within the coming days – with the University’s IT Services team having published some relevant advice to refer to.
Emily Sergeant -
30th August 2022 
