Manchester mayor Andy Burnham slammed for attacking North-South divide whilst owning £500k London pad
Corruption Level: 5
Content:
Andy Burnham has been accused of hypocrisy for attacking the North-South divide as he sits on a £500,000 nest-egg London investment - partly funded by taxpayers. The Greater Manchester mayor was facing a backlash last night for benefiting from the capital's property boom despite quitting as an MP more than three years ago. The ex-Labour Minister is refusing to sign up to the financial package on offer for the northern city being placed in the toughest Tier Three Covid restrictions. But Tory MP Peter Gibson said "This reeks of hypocrisy. Burnham talks of standing up for the North but he has his own safety net that's soared in value by £300,000 since he got it."
Burnham, 50, purchased the second home in London 15 years ago with the family residence nearly 200 miles away. He bought the two-bedroom flat with his wife Marie-France for £215,000 - but it's now worth an estimated £500,000. The property, currently rented to a private tenant, is close to The Oval cricket ground and just a short stroll from Westminster.
While he was an MP, Burnham claimed £18,952 in expenses for mortgage interest payments between May 2010 and June 2012 when he moved out of the property. Such an allowance for MPs was permitted at the time. He then claimed £43,499 expenses for living in a rented home nearby until the end of 2014, reports at the time revealed.
When confronted with the claims as he campaigned for the Labour party's top job in 2015, a spokesman then said "Any suggestion that he has made money with the help of the public purse is utterly false."
Burnham now claims the financial deal on offer to Greater Manchester will simply extend the gap between North and South as he fights for a furlough scheme to cover 80 per cent of wages. The Government's proposal will cover 67 per cent. Burnham has said "This amounts to the precise opposite of what this government was elected to do. It will level down the north of England and widen the North-South divide." He has hit out at PM Boris Johnson in recent weeks saying that jobs in the North will not be "sacrificed to save them elsewhere".
The PM said that he would be forced to intervene and impose a stricter lockdown if a financial deal was not struck. An agreement has been made for Liverpool and Lancashire to be part of the Tier Three measures. Figures showed the number of patients admitted to hospital in the North West hit 258, up from 178 the week before. There were 1,703 in hospital, up from 1,167 the week before.
But confusion broke out over lockdown talks between No?10 and Greater Manchester. No?10 said a call had been scheduled for the morning as both sides endeavour to reach agreement on Tier Three status, but Burnham's office denied a call had been scheduled. Later that day Burnham, along with Labour leader Keir Starmer, were under pressure to "engage" with the Government's regional approach to lockdown measures.
Twenty MPs backed demands for the pair to reconsider their tactics for Greater Manchester due to the "stark differences" in Covid rates across the country. Burnham's office declined to comment.
Outcome:
Andy Burnham Showboating as Greater Manchester is forced into Tier 3 restrictions
Corruption Level: 5
Content:
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick claimed the Mayor put on a show of 'finding out the Government would not cave to his financial demands on live TV but he had actually been told on the phone two hours before.
Burnham blew up a deal with the Government after he refused to accept an offer of £60million to help Manchester cope with Tier 3 restrictions during covid shutdowns. He wouldn't budge any lower than £65million, but was angling for as much as £95million.
During a live press conference, Burnham was shown a message by another local leader saying Manchester would only receive No10's initial offer of £22million after talks collapsed and Boris Johnson forced the city into Tier 3 restrictions. But Jenrick claimed the local leader was 'showboating' - and he had already phoned him to break the news that Manchester would only get £22million.
When asked if it was "fair" for Burnham to find out on live TV, the Housing Secretary told Sky News "He didn't. I phoned him and told him." adding "We had several conversations over the course of the previous morning, including with the Prime Minister, and I told him the final news at 2pm."
When asked if the Northern Mayor was "showboating" for the cameras, Jenrick said "I'm not in the slightest bit interested in point scoring, this isn't about personalities, or press conferences on the steps of town halls. In the end it's about an important public health situation, and ensuring the people of Greater Manchester now get what they deserve."
Health Minister Nadine Dorries slammed the Manchester Mayor of "Playing to the gallery" adding "He was personally and respectfully telephoned by Robert Jenrick at 2pm and told the news long before this tableau was played out."
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was left with no choice but to impose the measures on Manchester to "save lives" as local hospitals were filling up with Covid patients. He said Manchester had been given "a generous and extensive offer" and blasted the Mayor for snubbing the financial package.
He said at Downing Street "We have to act. Because not to act would put Manchester's NHS, and the lives of many of Manchester's residents, at risk."
Sources said Burnham lost out because his 'pride' got in the way and he had also demanded a bigger support package than those received by leaders in Liverpool and Lancashire, which the PM said would not be fair.
Tory MPs for Greater Manchester wrote a furious letter to Burnham later after he refused to agree to a deal. The letter, signed by six Tory MPs including Chris Clarkson and James Grady, stormed "We all want the very best possible outcome for our area and so take no issue with your effort to get an enhanced package for Greater Manchester. What we cannot fathom is, when the Government offered to give you 92 per cent of what you asked for, with a settlement of an additional £60m of funding, you decided the best option was to walk away having secured absolutely nothing."
In a statement in the Commons, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the higher £60million offer was still on the table and told Burnham to "pick up the phone". He said "Of course, we do not want businesses in Greater Manchester to be disadvantaged so that offer remains on the table. Our door is open to further discussions with local leaders in the coming days about business support."
Later, Robert Jenrick repeated the Health Secretary's message that all Burnham had to do was ask "(The £60million) is more than just on the table, it's there. It has Manchester's name on it, and I want to ensure it gets into the hands of local business people."
Outcome: