Andy Burnham manifesto: Greater Manchester mayor reveals three key election pledges in bid for third term

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has unveiled his vision for a third term in office, with three key pledges at its core.

The Labour mayor of the region, who was first elected in 2017, has released his manifesto with three “big ideas” to improve the city: ending the housing crisis by 2038, offering a new technical education pathway as an alternative to university, and creating a new Live Well service.

In the manifesto for the mayoral re-election campaign, Burnham said Greater Manchester has been powering forwards at a time when the country has been going backwards.

He said: “Greater Manchester has been leading the way on transport. We are now ready to do the same on housing, technical education and well-being.

“My vision for Greater Manchester is a place where everyone has a good secure home, a clear path in life and a good secure job; a place where people can get around easily and have the ability to live well, free from crime.”

Today we publish GM: Leading The Way – our most ambitious manifesto yet. It proposes:

🐝 an equal alternative to the university route
🐝 a new right for renters to request property checks
🐝 DWP devolution to create a new Live Well service

Read it here: https://t.co/0dBgyTOVii pic.twitter.com/OwAk4f3SJ5

— Andy Burnham (@AndyBurnhamGM) April 19, 2024

As part of Burnham’s vision to tackle the housing crisis, he has committed to establishing a new “multi-agency GM Housing First unit” to create the capacity to act on housing on every level. He also outlines plans to build 1,000 new homes in every borough by 2028 and introduce a “Good Landlord Charter” to help renters and set standards in the social-rented, private rented and student accommodation sectors.

Meanwhile in his second key area, if re-elected, Burnham said he would introduce a Greater Manchester Baccalaureate (MBacc) from September to connect young people with “high-quality opportunities across the fast-changing economy of Greater Manchester”.

The qualification will differ from the English Baccalaureate by concentrating on the subjects most valued by employers in the city, as opposed to those most valued by universities.

As part of his third Live Well pledge, Burnham plans to ask for devolution of employment support and funding and changes in the way local Job Centre Plus sites are used to “create a single Live Well service connecting DWP resources, primary care social prescribing and new funding from the Greater Manchester level towards prevention”.

Further pledges include accelerating the introduction of the Bee Network to ensure that the city has a fully-integrated public transport by 2028, including bikes, bus, tram and train services.

“I am more optimistic about Greater Manchester’s future than I have ever been because I believe in the coming generation of Greater Mancunians and where they will take us,” Burnham said.

“Our job now is to open the doors for them, let them through and, on the foundations we have laid, make this place everything it can be.”

Rotheram sets out his manifesto for Liverpool city region

It comes just a day after his fellow north-west mayor and political ally Steve Rotheram also unveiled his own manifesto for a third term in the Liverpool City Region, pledging to “make our region the best place to grow up, grow old and grow a business”.

Pledges include driving up standards in schools, by launching a regional school “Challenge” programme focused on improving leadership and designed by an education specialist, piloting AI technology in schools, and a “childcare guarantee” of multiple pledges for working parents.

Other pledges include a London-style transport network, including more public control over the main local rail firm, and provodiing publicly own housing “at scale” across the region.