Populist or Pragmatist: Who Is the Real Andy Burnham?

Hosted by The Londoner and The Mill

For the best part of 20 years, Andy Burnham has sought to become prime minister. But now he has power, what does he want to do with it?

During the Makerfield by-election, The Mill’s founder Joshi Herrmann wrote a profile of Burnham (Stop looking for Burnhamism) based on six years of covering him in Manchester. The piece reflected on Burnham’s “unusual gifts and glaring weaknesses” and has been widely quoted in the media since.

At this event hosted by The Mill’s sister title, The Londoner, Joshi will be joined on stage by four journalists who have covered our new prime minister the most closely over the years: Patrick Maguire from The Times, Helen Pidd from The Guardian and Jack Dulhanty from The Mill. The panel will be chaired by Beth Rigby from Sky News, and will tackle questions including:

• What actually is “Manchesterism”? And is it closer to Burnham’s left-wing rhetoric or the investor-friendly reality of modern Manchester?

• How does Burnham lead? How does he treat dissent and difficult decisions, and what kind of culture has he created in Manchester?

• Where will power lie? How big a deal is Number 10 North and will it succeed in dragging power away from London?

The panel

Beth Rigby (chair): Political editor of Sky News since 2019, Beth has regularly interrogated Burnham on camera, including recently for her podcast Electoral Dysfunction.

Patrick Maguire: Chief political commentator at The Times and author of two bestselling books about the Labour Party, Patrick is more plugged into Team Burnham than any other journalist and has written extensively about the new prime minister’s ideas and cultural hinterland.

Helen Pidd: Now presenting the Guardian's Today in Focus podcast, Helen was the paper’s North of England editor from 2013-2024 based in Manchester, during which time she observed Burnham up close and profiled the mayor several times.

Joshi Herrmann: Founder and editor-in-chief of Mill Media, Joshi has reported on Burnham for six years and continues to do so from The Mill’s newsroom in Manchester, just 500 yards from Number 10 North.

Jack Dulhanty: A consistent thorn in Burnham’s side as a staff writer at The Mill, Jack has reported on the mysteries and mechanics of the GMCA for half a decade - it was his investigation that forced the mayor’s advisor Sacha Lord to resign over a Covid-19 grant.

Details

Wednesday 9 September, 6pm – 7.30pm. London Scottish House, Westminster. Please take your seat ten minutes before we start.

Tickets £15, or £5 for paying members of The Londoner or The Mill. Members can use the promo code in the event email we send you - if you haven't received one yet, hold tight and you'll get one in the next few days.

Join The Londoner: Members of The Londoner get the best journalism and insight into the capital from our award-winning team, and get access to our special events. Join up now.