This is the land of rugby league (a sport almost exclusive to the working class English north). Parts of it are remarkably green, with patchwork fields interspersing the red-brick terraces, and the old industrial landscape reclaimed by nature reserves and parks.
Burnham, 56, grew up around these parts and supports Everton soccer club in nearby Liverpool. He called the election “a clarion call for change, change for people in this part of the world, a place I love so much,†at his launch in May.
Though this is an ostensibly local election, his national message has been clear. He demanded a “change to the economy, change to education, change to housing, change to transport, change to care, and yes — to make it all possible — a change to politics.â€
He suggested he would ease taxes on small businesses and increase defense spending — all while keeping the current government's promise not to raise income tax. Some critics say this is an unrealistic pitch in a cash-strapped country. Burnham points to Manchester becoming the fastest growing economic area of Britain under his mayoralty.
The mayor's main quality is that “he really looks like he is listening to people and feeling their pain,†said Ben Ansell, politics professor at the University of Oxford. And although “words alone won't do the trick†for the economy, he said, “it's probably better to have somebody who is going to speak positive words than somebody in a doomerish spiral.â€
The man at the other end of this vibes spectrum is Starmer.
