Andy Burnham, the man dubbed King of the North, chief evangelist of Manchesterism and pioneer of ‘No. 10 up ’ere’, has made clear where his geographical loyalties lie.
In sweeping away the remnants of Starmer’s two years in office and putting together his own team, the Prime Minister has now assembled what could be the most northerly cabinet in modern British political history.
The case for a predominantly northern cabinet would be far easier to swallow if those who had reached the top table represented an exceptional concentration of political talent. Instead, what a ragbag we have here
Some 13 of the 23 ministers in his cabinet represent constituencies in northern England – including those who hold three of the four great offices of state: Prime Minister, Chancellor and Foreign Secretary. Little wonder, then, that the cabinet table is now being tortuously branded – wait for it – ‘Mancminster’.
As a Mancunian myself (someone who, unlike Andy Burnham, Angela Rayner and others, has never left the North) you might expect this shifting of the political compass would be warmly welcomed. After all, with so many around the cabinet table familiar, say, with the Trafford Centre, this should surely spell the end of the Westminster bubble.
