As Andy Burnham Enters No 10, What of His 'Bezzie Mate' Steve Rotheram?
Andy Burnham enters No 10, and his 'bezzie mate' Steve Rotheram, the mayor of Liverpool city region, has a strong claim to having the closest personal bond to the incoming prime minister.
Intelligence analysis by Llama
The bond between Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram, the mayor of Liverpool city region, has been forged over years of shared experiences, including their fight for justice for the 97 victims of the Hillsborough disaster. Rotheram has a strong claim to having the closest personal bond to the incoming prime minister, and he has been a key figure in Burnham's leadership campaign.
Andy Burnham is becoming the new prime minister, and his friend Steve Rotheram, the mayor of Liverpool, has been a big help to him. They've been friends for a long time and have worked together on many projects, including fighting for justice for the people who died in the Hillsborough disaster. Now, they want to make sure that local areas have more control over things like education and healthcare.
Analysis
A Bromance Born in the North West
The bond between Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram, the mayor of Liverpool city region, has been forged over years of shared experiences. They first met in 2008, when Burnham was Gordon Brown's culture secretary and Rotheram was the lord mayor of Liverpool. The pair's friendship was then cemented as Rotheram followed Burnham to parliament in 2010 and the pair became drinking buddies, bound by a shared feeling of being outsiders in Westminster.
A Shared History of Fighting for Justice
The Hillsborough disaster was a pivotal moment in their friendship. Rotheram was at the FA Cup semi-final supporting his beloved Liverpool, while Burnham – who was at Villa Park watching his team Everton that day – had friends at the Sheffield Wednesday ground. Together they fought the decades-long battle for justice for the 97 victims and their families.
A Partnership for Devolution
Rotheram and other mayors also want the incoming prime minister to go further on devolving powers over skills, particularly control of technical education for 16 to 18-year-olds. Many have complained about their difficulties in dealing with the Department for Education in Whitehall. Under plans given to Burnham's team in recent weeks, mayors would appoint health and education commissioners to oversee local schools, GPs and childcare providers in a similar role to that played by police and crime commissioners.
Key points
- Andy Burnham enters No 10 with a strong claim to having the closest personal bond to the incoming prime minister, Steve Rotheram.
- Rotheram has been a key figure in Burnham's leadership campaign and has a shared history of fighting for justice with him.
- The pair want to go further on devolving powers over skills, particularly control of technical education for 16 to 18-year-olds.
- Mayors would appoint health and education commissioners to oversee local schools, GPs and childcare providers under plans given to Burnham's team.
With Burnham and Rotheram at the helm, there is a possibility that the devolution agenda will be taken further, leading to more powers being given to local areas and a more human-scale approach to decision-making.
However, there are also risks that the devolution agenda will be watered down or that the incoming prime minister will not prioritize the needs of local areas, leading to a lack of progress on issues like education and healthcare.
