Never in living memory has the north of England felt so far removed from the economic and political power base of London. That the most – the only? – prominent northern accent in the House of Commons currently belongs not to a sitting MP but to the speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, speaks volumes about the complete disenfranchisement of northern influence in how Britain is currently run.
Step forward then Andy Burnham, a one-time potential Labour party leader who wisely recognised that making significant change within Westminster is often a thwarted and thankless task, survivable only by the biggest egos or the borderline psychopathic. However, as mayor of Greater Manchester he has rolled up his sleeves and dug deep into local politics and community policy making, and consequently proven himself to be that increasingly rare breed in the 2020s: a genuinely popular politician. Some still consider him to be a possible future PM, and with Head North he certainly stakes a claim as an individual with a clear vision not yet jaded by three decades in the cesspit of politics.
