Andy Burnham should be the PM to end the war on cars and motorists

Of the 36 million cars owned in Britain, around 2.8m are based in Scotland, 1.1m in Northern Ireland and 1.8m in Wales. Each of these three British nations has its own, locally elected government, parliament and first minister. The fourth, England (where around 30 million car owners reside), doesn’t.

But it does have its very own, unofficial, increasingly powerful and influential King of the North. He’s a 56-year old, Aintree-born bloke called Andrew Murray Burnham, but he’s also known as plain-old Andy B, The Messiah of Manchester, just elected MP for Makerfield and wannabe British Prime Minister. Within a week or three we’ll know if he successfully lands the PM job he craves.

And we’ll also know if, as part of what he describes as his “cry for a more equal Britain”, he’ll relocate at least part of the Government’s machine from London to Manchester. Might he refuse to sit at a desk in 10 Downing Street, preferring instead to have one at 10 Coronation Street? Could he argue that London’s had its day (even I, a born-and-bred Londoner, would tend to agree) and that Manchester should become the new capital of England? We’ll see. 

Regardless of whether you like or dislike Andy Burnham or his politics, it has to be acknowledged that during his nine years as Mayor of Manchester he did a generally sound job. His refusal to discriminate against, wage war on and charge drivers toll fees for entering his city (as some other mayors have unfairly done) suggests that he’s not one of those out of touch, car-loathing politicians we’ve come to know and despise.

Also, if I understand him correctly, he’s merely recognising that London has too many Government and other state buildings and employees, and that this load should be spread more evenly. Thus the likely transfer of at least some business to Manchester. 

It’s surely a positive development that the apparently motorist-friendly King of the North is so actively proud of and loyal to his patch and people (including a total of 8.2 million car owners in the North East, North West, Yorkshire and Humberside), whose interests he genuinely seems to care about. But this, alone, is not nearly enough. 

If and when he becomes PM, he also needs to ensure there’s an equally car-affable Sultan of the South East which is home for almost nine million car owners. At the same time he’ll have to facilitate an Emperor of the East (where 3.6m cars are owned). For the often disgracefully ignored bottom left hand corner of England dogged by a lousy road ‘network’, a Warrior of the West (another 3.6m owners) is an absolute must. As is a much-needed Monarch of The Midlands (6m). This is the region that includes Birmingham, which many have relegated to Britain’s third city. Largely thanks to Burnham, Manchester has been promoted to the number-two slot. And deservedly so.

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