By Canon Mike D Williams
The new Prime Minister has a plan—not a detailed one, but a broad set of priorities and a vision for the country. What stands out are the stories and experiences that shaped his view of Britain. I read this book during the week Andy Burnham became Prime Minister, and it helps explain his different approach and the disruption he is likely to bring to politics as usual.
Written with a shadow author, the Regional Mayor of Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram joins Andy Burham, then Mayor of Greater Manchester, in detailing their journey into politics and what drives the desire to radically change the Westminster system of government. They take turn in writing their piece on each topic.
The book is in two parts. The first sets out in a series of chapters their experiences.
It starts with their early lives growing up as working class lads in Liverpool with an interest in football and music. Steve supports Liverpool FC and Andy, as a Roman Catholic, is a lifelong Everton man. The Hillsborough disaster shaped them in different ways – it was the day that changed everything. Steve was at the ground and saw the tragedy unfold. Andy heavily engaged with trying to achieve justice for the families and getting the Hillsborough Law passed so that public officials can no longer avoid telling the truth.
Another illustration of unjust treatment by central government was the shocking lack of financial support to their Regions during Covid in comparison to London. The Treasury comes in for repeated criticism especially the “Green Book” which guides all investment decisions by Government. It relies on a certain level of return on investment which is easy to achieve in the prosperous southeast but not in the North, so money is channelled to already wealthy areas they argue.
A significant part of the story is their decision to both resign as MPs and head north to become Regional Mayors and create new ways of governing. The second part of the book sets out the vision. The stark inequalities in living standards, education and employment opportunities across the country are major motivators for a new type of politics. Their agenda is radical – devolving power from London to the Regions, have a written constitution, reform of the voting system and allow MPs to vote freely without the need for party whips. Devolving the money from Whitehall to avoid the need to constantly bid for grants from different departments that don’t take a coordinated approach to the Regions.
Blunt talking from two northern men. They lift the lid on what is wrong with major parts of our system of government. You may not agree with everything or even their politics, but you can’t fault their motivation derived from their lived experience. However, that experience is very urban and far from the real north or the south-west of the UK.