Being heckled over the Hillsborough disaster was the moment Andy Burnham realised he had fallen out of love with Westminster politics.
The Liverpool-born mayor of Manchester was culture secretary in Gordon Brown’s government when fans interrupted his speech
at Anfield in 2009 on the 20th anniversary of the tragedy with shouts of “justice for the 96”.
Footage from the day shows Burnham on the pitch clearly rattled and close to tears, before nodding and mouthing “OK”.
Speaking to the Sunday Mail in Edinburgh, he said: “I’d been at Hillsborough myself the year before, watching Everton in the Lepping Lane. I knew all about it but now I was a member of the government.
“I felt like I was looking into the abyss, one lone voice shouting ‘justice’, then more joining and then the chants began. I was face-to-face with the people I grew up with. I had always railed against London, saying the north didn’t get a fair shot.
“But here I was confronted with the basic fact that for 20 years an entire northern city’s call for justice had been ignored and I was part of the government.”
The next day Burnham asked Brown if he could raise Hillsborough in Parliament.
Brown agreed and his intervention ultimately resulted in the second Hillsborough inquiry. When Burnham spoke at the 25th anniversary of Hillsborough, he was applauded – but his first experience remained a seminal moment.
He added: “My journey away from Westminster began at Anfield that day. It was the turning point in my life. To be honest, I fell out of love with it.”
So it shouldn’t be a surprise that he has sympathy for Scotland’s First Minister when it comes to dealings with the UK Government. While no supporter of Scottish independence, Burnham, who is regularly named as a possible contender for Labour leader, admits he now has a unique insight into the failings of Westminster and the need for far more power to be held in Scotland.
He said: “Looking from the outside, it’s clear the constitutional question is not settled. In terms of a referendum, I’m not going to say, ‘No, not ever,’ I’m not going to use that language.
"But I do think there are more important things now – people’s living standards and incomes, the NHS – and I would personally hate to see a border between England and Scotland. If there has to be another referendum, my party needs to come up with a much better alternative to the one that was put forward last time.
"I say that with five years’ experience as mayor in Manchester. At the time of the first referendum, I was in the Westminster system and I think when you’re in it you can’t see all of its flaws.
"This is where I have sympathy with the First Minister – when you see those London-centric prejudices up close, it gives you more understanding of sentiment in Scotland than I had in 2014.”
Since becoming mayor, Burnham has been dubbed the King of the North after high-profile battles with Boris Johnson and Sturgeon during the pandemic over travel bans and Covid compensation.
But chatting in an Edinburgh cafe before an appearance at the Fringe Festival, it’s his friendly, down-to-earth modesty that is striking – despite the clear ambition and sense of purpose.
He has twice run to be Labour leader and doesn’t rule out a third attempt.
“One day, maybe. I’m doing something I love doing at the moment” is his stock response to the question.
He would have to become an MP again but it’s clear he has his own vision on how both the north of England and Scotland could be better treated by those in power in London.
He said: “It can’t just be the Westminster status quo with a bit more devolution thrown in – I’m talking about a completely rewired Britain. Scotland doesn’t have a voice within that system commensurate with its size and influence.
“The rewiring of Britain means an elected senate for the nations and regions to replace the unelected lords, it means proportional representation for the Commons and it means as close to home rule for Scotland as you can.”
Burnham’s visit to Edinburgh coincided with a waste disposal strike that has resulted in piles of rubbish strewn around the city.
While Labour leader Keir Starmer has been accused of being lukewarm in support for striking workers, Burnham made his position clear. The 52-year-old dad-of-three added: “You cannot criticise people who are fighting for their incomes in a cost-of-living crisis and the Labour Party should be unequivocally showing that support.
“Why is it always the pay of people at the bottom which is unaffordable – when are we going to have a conversation about the pay of those at the top?”
In the face of the cost-of-living crisis, Burnham is taking buses back into public control in Manchester. He said: “It is definitely something Scottish cities should look at. I’m bringing in a cap on fares – £2 maximum for adult and £1 for a child.”
Burnham met with the First Minister on Wednesday. He said: "Last year we had a travel ban imposed on Manchester and Salford and Bolton with no consultation at all and that had a big impact. We felt like we weren’t welcome any more in Scotland.
“I didn’t see much of an apology and I think we were owed one as people had plans disrupted and lost money.”
It’s difficult to imagine that Sturgeon and Burnham wouldn’t agree on many things given their shared contempt for Conservative failures on social justice.
Burnham said: “I struggle to see how Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak can reconcile their right-wing rhetoric with a programme for government for the times we’re in. I think the chances of a general election within a year are high.”
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