| Re: Andy Burnham elected to parliament, with a strong transport reputation Posted by John D at 07:25, 19th June 2026 |     |
Will the arrival into Parliament of Andy Burnham - who's done so much to flagship changes and developments of public transport in the Manchester area, and who's a Labour heavyweight make any difference indirectly to the government's direction and approaches to public transport - trains, buses, etc, in the south / west of England and South Wales?
Manchester (for which Andy is famous) has a high population density (a.k.a. is largely urban). Would he be inclined to make a difference in urban areas such as Bristol, Plymouth and Exeter or would his influence across the UK spread to areas which are described as "rural" but which are in practice a series of urban townships where most people live, separated from one another by a handful of miles of countryside?
Manchester (for which Andy is famous) has a high population density (a.k.a. is largely urban). Would he be inclined to make a difference in urban areas such as Bristol, Plymouth and Exeter or would his influence across the UK spread to areas which are described as "rural" but which are in practice a series of urban townships where most people live, separated from one another by a handful of miles of countryside?
Difficult to know how he sees more rural Britain, he was born near Liverpool, grew up in Culcheth (a village north east across motorway from Warrington), attended school in Newton-le-Willows, went to Cambridge University. So most of his first 20 years was in smaller towns rather than busy urban areas.
But seems he understands the other metro mayors, so might be more sympathetic to Bristol, and apparently isn't a great fan of London centric policies. So I think it will be case of wait and see.
| Andy Burnham elected to parliament, with a strong transport reputation Posted by grahame at 05:28, 19th June 2026 | |
Will the arrival into Parliament of Andy Burnham - who's done so much to flagship changes and developments of public transport in the Manchester area, and who's a Labour heavyweight make any difference indirectly to the government's direction and approaches to public transport - trains, buses, etc, in the south / west of England and South Wales?
Manchester (for which Andy is famous) has a high population density (a.k.a. is largely urban). Would he be inclined to make a difference in urban areas such as Bristol, Plymouth and Exeter or would his influence across the UK spread to areas which are described as "rural" but which are in practice a series of urban townships where most people live, separated from one another by a handful of miles of countryside?
