Kate Proctor: Should Andy Burnham be George Osborne's poster-boy?

By putting himself forward as a Labour candidate for Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham was automatically signing himself up to represent a thoroughly Tory idea.
Andy Burnham MP. The Shadow Home Secretary will run for the mayor of Greater Manchester after being selected by the Labour Party.Andy Burnham MP. The Shadow Home Secretary will run for the mayor of Greater Manchester after being selected by the Labour Party.
Andy Burnham MP. The Shadow Home Secretary will run for the mayor of Greater Manchester after being selected by the Labour Party.

Former Chancellor George Osborne spoke often of his dream of a Northern Powerhouse, and launched the very concept in 2014 in the aptly named Power Hall in the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester.

Any journalist who writes about politics in the North of England knows parts of this speech off by heart.

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Beyond Mr Osborne's fanciful association between politics and beam engines and hydraulic accumulators, he said "We need a Northern Powerhouse.

"Not one city, but a collection of northern cities - sufficiently close to each other that combined they can take on the world."

Oh, and you'll need a directly elected mayor to make this happen. This caveat has led to the near meltdown of deals with the Treasury across the North of England and struggles in Yorkshire.

However not in Greater Manchester. They proceeded with the model for a directly elected mayor as outlined by Mr Osborne with a kind of full-steam ahead enthusiasm that more than befits the industrial analogies.

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And while some city regions have insisted the plan for a mayor must go back out to consultation with the public, and squabbled over whether the incumbent would ultimately help Labour or the Tories, Greater Manchester will be the first to make Mr Osborne's vision a reality.

So how well does that sit with Labour Party politician Andy Burnham? Is it right that a Labour mayor might ultimately make a success of Mr Osborne's plan to devolve power away from London?

Many in his own party see the mayoral model as a smoke screen for cuts, and a way of successfully shifting the accountability for the North's success and failure onto others. Many more across the North do not want to see devolution go ahead as planned full stop.

Back in June, I asked Mr Burnham how he would feel if he was elected mayor of Manchester, and therefore occupied a position designed by the Conservatives.

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Pragmatically he said that it was powerful position that demanded cabinet level experience and he could use it to reinvigorate Labour in the North of England. And of course represent the people of Greater Manchester. Because let's not forget this Liverpudlian accented politician is actually from Leigh, which is quite close and he loved the Madchester music scene.

The 46-year-old former Health Secretary sees it as a golden opportunity to make the role his own and put his own stamp on it. He is convinced that although the position was created by the Tories, it will be a way of holding them to account and consolidating a power base in the North. A diametrically opposing centre of political power to Westminster.

This is about trying to show that the North - with the right tools - can be just as powerful as the South and he sounded determined to make it a success.

Good luck to him. Being a Labour politician and George Osborne's poster boy will not be easy, but he thinks the rewards make it worth a shot.