BURNHAM Backer SHUTS DOWN Right Wing MOUTHPIECE As SMEAR Campaign Begins!

Added: 2026-05-21

[00:00:00]it shouldn't really matter, but I go up every weekend and play football.

[00:00:03]>> Sorry, love, but I live there. I pay my taxes there. I understand the local infrastructure. I just understand I was born and bred in Manchester. And I'm not suggesting Andy Burnham's not a a decent guy. What about things All right, so in this video you're going to see a right-wing pundit having an absolute meltdown at the prospect of Andy Burnham becoming the next Prime Minister. Let's watch.

[00:00:24]Well, but still he's got to win the seat, hasn't he, Angela? And that's the tricky bit.

[00:00:29]>> is the bit This is what a lot a lot of sort of people have been saying in in my neck of the woods is that voters don't like it when politicians use them for political ambition. And the people of Makerfield deserve more than being a stepping stone or a part of the strategy to get Andy Burnham into number 10. If he cared about the north, he should fulfill the the terms of his mayoral um tenure, which is I think till I can't remember when it's till, but it's 2028 or something. Do you know, I read it's going to cost something like 4 million pounds. I don't know if these And they might get a reform mayor as well. Yes, exactly. Well, you're there. I was coming to that. But also, the cost of the by-election for he can he can hang on in case he loses, but if if he wins Makerfield, that's that's going to come out of taxpayers' money to pay for a by-election. And then this idea that, you know, well, tell us what you're going to do for Makerfield. You've not talked about um you know, how you're going to cut welfare to for those that don't need it so that more money can go into the local area. He's not come out with strong messages about >> rejoining the EU. He's talking about rejoining the EU, which is a a weather vane politician, which voters don't like whichever side of the political divide they're on. But I think the big complaint in Manchester is that we are not your stepping stone. We are not here to feather your nest and further ambition.

[00:01:43]>> Well, let's got a former Labour advisor Matthew Torbitt on the line. It's It's um emergency situation for Labour at the moment. Do you think Burnham could turn it around, Matthew?

[00:01:54]That's my hope. I've I've been backing Andy Burnham to be the next Labour leader for the last 18 months. It seems most obvious to me.

[00:02:01]Uh Angela referenced his net favorability rating. He's the only politician in the country with a consistent favorability rating such as the the state of our politics and and people's disdain for our politicians.

[00:02:12]Um I think he's got a track record that could have blueprint really that could be emulated across the country. There's obviously the buses that people know about. And I know, you know, some people sort of poopoo that and laugh a little bit. I think if you're only paying 20 quid for your travel all week, that's a lot more money you can put uh into the local economy, which is exactly what's happened. Um Manchester's had 3.1% growth over the last 10 years.

[00:02:36]Uh I've seen other states had little to do with him. If that's the case, why is no other city managed to do it if it's that easy?

[00:02:42]On homelessness, uh he signed up to the Housing First scheme. He was only one of three mayors uh that did so. Uh it's been very successful in Finland. He wanted to bring it to Greater Manchester.

[00:02:52]That is where you put people in houses.

[00:02:55]You take them off the street. They don't have to meet any conditions, and they get the wrap-around care to go with it.

[00:03:00]That had an 86 to 92% success rate. And and the government pulled the money on that, and he found the money to continue. It's the people who Homelessness isn't where it is it's Is it Is it very different to run the country? And he said he's going to stick to the borrowing rules put down by Rachel Reeves. So, if he's going to spend more, he's going to increase taxes, correct?

[00:03:23]Uh well, he's not said that, has he? And also, is it the idea that I would That's right in Manchester.

[00:03:28]Hang on a minute. You've just said uh this very different from running the country. I'm telling you about a blueprint that can be emulated around the country. We have You Well, yeah, you'll have seen this morning. We've had the We've got the highest youth unemployment in 11 years.

[00:03:41]He's He's launched an M backs scheme, which is uh supposed to be the same as university but for technical skills.

[00:03:48]There's businesses in Manchester there's never been before like the businesses Okay. So, we we can't go through the you look unimpressed by that and you are from that neck of the woods.

[00:03:56]>> I don't know where you live, Matthew. Do you live in Manchester?

[00:04:00]Not for years now. Exactly. Well, I I do live there. And I live there and and I think that the lot of the the way Well, no, you can you can scoff in that way that that politicians and politicians are like that.

[00:04:12]>> matter, but I go up every weekend to play golf.

[00:04:15]Well, I live there. Sorry, love, but I live there. I pay my taxes there. I understand the local infrastructure. I just understand. I was born and bred in Manchester. And I'm not suggesting Andy Burnham's not a a decent guy. What about things like the spent on the on the clean air scheme, which was then junked.

[00:04:26]He has missed the homeless targets. I'm not saying that he hasn't done some good for the city. What I'm saying is that we're somehow using that as a reason to suggest, and I'm not I'm not entirely convinced by what he's done in Manchester anyway, that that that is as you call a blueprint for government. I'm hearing more of the same. I'm hearing U-turns. I'm hearing more likelihood of spending. I'm here seeing the so-called wealthy who actually inject money into the economy being clobbered. And I don't see any I want him to come out fighting.

[00:04:54]I think, you know, an experienced politician, he was health secretary, although he did preside over the Mid Staffs health scandal, the NHS scandal, and wasn't seen to have done much about it.

[00:05:04]All right, you're doing what Matthew did now, which is you've just done a long list. Well, I can, but I'm entitled to because this is my area. He's my mayor.

[00:05:10]It it's Yeah, I Does it Is it worth it? Because Matthew, whatever magic he he could weave, you've got to justify ripping up the Labour manifesto from the last election and ditching the prime minister people voted for.

[00:05:25]I think not necessarily. If you look at what Matt Carney did in in Canada, he came and gave the Liberals an an immediate boost and called an immediate general election. Nobody's spoken about that. Everybody's prejudging what Andy Burnham may or may not do if he ends up the MP for Wakefield. He's not spoken about anything of the sort. What people are doing are projecting >> of the MP for Makerfield. He's not spoken about anything of the sort, and what people are doing are projecting onto him their views and ideas. That's not the case, and we can only go off what he's done and what he said. Mhm.

[00:05:56]Okay, thank you very much indeed for joining us, Matthew Torbitt.

[00:05:59]You've got to laugh at the sheer panic from the right-wing media about Andy Burnham potentially becoming the next Prime Minister.

[00:06:06]They're throwing all all sorts of smears at him, mostly about the markets not reacting well to him.

[00:06:12]Um but it's classic right-wing media doing right-wing things.

[00:06:17]They believe that the wealthy should be protected at all costs, and ultimately they believe in classic trickle-down nonsense. And why wouldn't they? They are paid by people who benefit from low tax rates on the wealthy.

[00:06:30]And while Angela Rayner tries to dismiss the successes in Greater Manchester with her own petty grievances, the Labour advisor Matthew Torbitt rightly points out that the actual material victories of Burnham's blueprint are things like capping bus fares, so working-class people have more money in their pockets, and fully funding a housing first scheme when central government pulled the plug.

[00:06:52]They are genuine progressive achievements, and that's what competent material-focused government looks like.

[00:06:57]Now, whether Andy Burnham actually implements those things nationwide remains to be seen.

[00:07:03]But we do know that the right-wing is absolutely terrified of any political alternative that challenges their decades-long experiment with deregulation and austerity.

[00:07:12]The moment a Labour politician actually talks about public ownership, wealth or investing in local infrastructure, and who's really, really popular, the most popular politician in the UK at the moment, the conservative media probably immediately tries to shut it down.

[00:07:25]But as Torbitt just proved, you can stand firmly on a record that actually delivers for working people, or has done in Manchester. So it remains to be seen whether Andy Burnham can actually do a good job if he gets into the Number 10, which I believe he will.

[00:07:40]Anyway, let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and if you want to see more videos like this, hit the like and subscribe buttons and don't forget to ring the notification bell so you never miss a video. Thanks for watching.