The jacket that Andy Burnham wore during a viral speech where he railed against more COVID-19 restrictions for the region back in 2020 is going on display at a museum in Manchester.
In a moment that is etched in the memory of so many Mancunians, the Mayor of Greater Manchester stood outside The Bridgewater Hall back on 15 October 2020 to address the people of the city-region and stand up against a government intent on introducing more COVID-19 restrictions on an area already hit hard enough as it was.
Streamed live across the nation and with the rest of the UK watching on, Andy Burnham, along with other North West leaders, backed away from government talks to place Greater Manchester in the toughest Tier 3 restrictions.
He criticised the financial support being offered by the Conservative government, saying that the 60% furlough scheme for employees was insufficient, and sharing his urgent concerns that it would push people into poverty.
He famously accused the government of “playing poker with people’s lives”.
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And it’s fair to say it earned Burnham respect from locals, and a few new fans from outside the area in the process.
Andy Burnham was crowned ‘King of the North’ after his speech outside the Bridgewater Hall in October 2020 / Credit: Sky News
Shortly after he delivered the now-famous speech, the Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester began to go viral on social media, with admiration from people in their thousands pouring in, and even inspiring a Vogue article headlined: ‘Suddenly, inexplicably, we all fancy Andy Burnham.”
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His role in securing more money for local Northern communities during the pandemic led to him being crowned ‘King of the North’ by the media.
But an unlikely star of the whole ordeal ended up being the jacket he was wearing at the time.
So much so, that the navy blue worker’s jacket in question – which Burnham confessed he bought in the 2012 Boxing Day sales from House of Fraser in Manchester city centre – is going on display at the People’s History Museum this week until early September, and it will likely see it cementing its place as a local artefact worth remembering.
Mr Burnham admitted that he had actually wanted to wear his favourite North Face cagoule that had made a couple of appearances around the same time for the Bridgewater Hall press conference, but his wife told him to put on something else, “otherwise they’ll think you’re sponsored by North Face”.
So he put on what he calls his “second division” jacket that he normally wears to watch Everton at the weekends – and the rest, as they say, is history.
The jacket is going on display in the People’s History Museum this week / Credit: People’s History Museum
Speaking on the jacket arrival at the museum, Sam Jenkins – Collections Manager at the People’s History Museum – said: “As a museum, we knew that it was important to collect the political story of COVID for future generations.
“We got a copy of the speech from that day, but we also felt that the jacket was a great visual representation of the changing situation that autumn and of the split between Westminster and the regions.
“It struck a note with people because it is a very working class jacket.
“It feels authentic [on Mr Burnham], and it was very much in stark contrast to the suits being worn in those Westminster briefings.”
Featured Image – People’s History Musuem
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ITV to be bought out by Sky in transformational British broadcasting deal worth £1.6 billion
Danny Jones
In a watershed moment for British broadcasting, Sky has reached a transformational agreement worth more than £1.6 billion to buy out ITV in a landmark takeover deal.
With Sky already owned by US telecommunications corporation Comcast, this is set to be one of the biggest shakeups in TV and streaming for some time.
Talks actually started last November, but the process to complete a buyout like this has obviously taken a significant amount of time and money already.
It’s also worth noting that the deal is still pending full approval from the relevant regulators; nevertheless, it’s fair to say that it could change the face of the British media giants – who are based here in Greater Manchester over at MediaCity – but might signal a significant overhaul of our media landscape.
The Sky Group have assured there will be no immediate change to popular shows and will not be put behind a paywall at present (for now, anyway), with ITV still under a free-to-air service until 2034 as part of its public licensing contract.
Aquisitons/mergers of this size like this don’t come around very often, at least not across this side of the pond, with the growing Disney’s growing multinational monopolisation being one of the biggest examples of conglomerates mopping up major networks and huge brands over the past decade.
Writing in a statement, Sky said: “The UK media market is undergoing a profound and rapid transformation, and as competition for audiences intensifies, scale matters more than ever in order to compete with global streaming giants and YouTube in the UK.
“Viewers will continue to enjoy the shows they know and love, such as Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Love Island, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, This Morning, Loose Women, Lorraine and News at Ten – alongside major live sporting events.”
That lattermost example feels particularly poignant at the moment, as this also means that the likes of ITV’s impressive World Cup coverage will come under the Sky umbrella in the near future.
ITV agrees sale of media and entertainment business to Sky for up to £1.6bnhttps://t.co/UtgO9REejy
It’s being seen as an ambitious attempt to shake up traditional terrestrial telly and digital platforms, with the ‘old guard’, as it were, having to move forward and fast to keep up with the mercurial market becoming evermore dominated by streaming services.
Of course, there are plenty raising questions and concerns over yet another domestic institution becoming deeper and deeper entwined with big American business; on the other hand, former ITV chairman Sir Peter Bazalgette, who still owns shares, says the deal was “essential” for its survival.
ITV will also receive £1.2bn in cash and Sky’s Love Productions business in return for ownership of their media and entertainment arm, whose shows include the Great British Bake Off.
Moving forward, ITV will also get a further £200m in 2028 if they meet revenue targets when it comes to advertising, with Sky promising to spend over £2.1bn on content from ITV Studios over a five-year period. You can read the full update from ITV right HERE.
Featured Images — James West (via Flickr)/Publicity picture
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Wayne Rooney ‘agrees’ to bizarre bet ahead of 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals
Danny Jones
England and Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has seemingly roped himself into a bizarre bet of his own making after yet more teams booked their place in the quarter-final stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
It’s not quite Gary Lineker doing Match of the Day in his underpants after Leicester won the league, level, but we’d still pay to see it.
However, after the bedlam following England booking their spot in the quarter-finals this morning (feels odd to say and we’re still not quite sure what day it is), you might be surprised to learn it has nothing to do with the Three Lions’ historic victory.
It does have to do with who they’ll be facing in their next game, though: Norway, as Rooney seemed confident enough in his prediction that the Scandinavian side wouldn’t make it into the final eight that he wagered he’d row down the River Mersey. Well, they did…
Yes, in case you missed it, the Norwegians did make it past Brazil with a 2-1 win – and, of course, more goals for Erling Haaland – before Thomas Tuchel’s side had barely even woken up for their very long day at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico.
While no one was quite sure why ‘Wazza’ was quite so confident that the ‘Seleção’ were going to go through, especially since Norway had shown just as much star power in spells in the opening four rounds, he still decided to throw down the gauntlet on himself.
As you can see in the clip above, he says he’s a “man of [his] word” and looks to have even roped in the likes of fellow former pros turned punditry colleagues on the night, Micah Richards and Joe Hart.
That being said, he did make the caveat that perhaps it would be better if the BBC could somehow sort them to sail down the Hudson River in New York instead, simply for the sake of ‘time’.
We’re not sure exactly how easy it is for the British broadcasters to simply secure permission to take a rowboat down one of the busiest and most famous waterways in the world, but you never know.
Here’s hoping they at least try to make something happen, anyway.
There’s been plenty of curious and comedic moments already this tournament, but for anyone who hasn’t yet watched Harry Kane’s post-match following the tense 3-2 thriller against Mexico, you really need to.
He was given the chance to chat to the media once again after his voice recovered, but let’s just say the memes that have already come from THAT interview are almost as memorable as the match itself.
Emily Sergeant -
14th July 2022 
