It’s been a big year in politics across the world – and Greater Manchester was no exception.
Countries home to nearly half of the global population have held elections this year. And in Greater Manchester, voters took to the polls several times in 2024, to elect local councillors and city and regional mayors. There’s been a high profile by-election too.
But the biggest moment came later in May when the Prime Minister finally put an end to months of speculation by revealing the date for the general election. Labour’s landslide several weeks later led to the first change of government in the UK for more than 14 years.
It came after a tricky campaign for the Tories which saw Rishi Sunak booed in Bury as well as several visits from Labour leader Keir Starmer to Greater Manchester. In the end, the Conservatives lost every seat in the city-region with Labour taking 25 – including one from George Galloway who had won the Rochdale by-election a few months earlier – while the Lib Dems gained the other two.
Labour’s impressive victory in Greater Manchester was foreshadowed by Andy Burnham who secured a third term as mayor with a record majority. But the party did not fare as well at the local elections, losing control of Oldham council and several seats elsewhere
The war in Gaza was a big factor behind Labour’s losses of councillors in the city-region, including Manchester council’s deputy leader. However, the general election was a different story – at least in Greater Manchester, which would now be at the centre of power.
Watching Ashton-under-Lyne MP Angela Rayner become one of the most powerful women in the country was a proud moment for those on the Bridgehall estate in Stockport where she grew up. But she was not the only Greater Manchester MP to get a top job in the new Labour government – in fact around a dozen of our parliamentary representatives are ministers, including four in cabinet.
Angela Rayner with the Labour battle bus in Ashton
(Image: Kenny Brown)
Labour’s honeymoon period did not last long though. Rows over child poverty – which saw one of our MPs suspended from the party – as well as cuts to the winter fuel allowance and delays to a long-awaited rebuild of a Manchester hospital did not go down well.
The summer saw riots on the streets of Greater Manchester and across many Northern towns following a horrific knife attack which killed three children in Southport. And while rioters faced justice fast, overcrowded jails meant other prisoners had to be released a month later.
Rows over freebies for MPs and internal feuds in Downing Street which saw chief of staff Sue Gray resign within months, dominated the headlines for weeks while government announcements were virtually put on hold until the budget. In October, when Rachel Reeves finally revealed her tax and spending plans, the reaction was mixed with workers getting pay rises while businesses were hit.
But perhaps the most significant political moment of the year – and possibly our lifetimes, according to Andy Burnham – came right at the end. It is the biggest change to the way the country is run for generations, albeit a ‘quiet revolution’, was announced by ‘Our Ange’ in December when she revealed the new powers mayors would get and how council maps across the country would be redrawn.
It’s been a hell of year in politics. Here are the biggest moments for Greater Manchester.
January
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited La Dolce Vita cafe in Marple, Stockport
(Image: Jacob King/PA Wire)
With the date of the general election still a mystery, Rishi Sunak started the year campaigning in Greater Manchester. He met with party members at a La Dolce Vita Restaurant in Marple, a key battleground in the Conservative held constituency of Hazel Grove.
He was warmly welcomed at the cafe, but outside, he was booed. Asked why, one man behind the boos said: “Because they’ve broken the country haven’t they? Public services crumbling, health service is crumbling, economy crumbling. We’ve had enough of them.”
It was a sign of things to come. And despite the Prime Minister insisting that his party’s plan to ‘level up’ the country was working, when the Manchester Evening News asked people in the marginal Tory constituency what they reckoned, some just laughed.
The following week it was the Labour leader’s turn to get a grilling from Greater Manchester. Sir Keir visited the M.E.N. offices where he took part in a Q&A session with NHS consultants, charity workers, teachers and schoolchildren, before sitting down for an interview.
During the interview, he revealed for the first time that Labour had ruled out reviving the Northern leg of HS2 which had been cancelled by Mr Sunak several months earlier. Sir Keir also promised to work ‘hand in glove’ with Greater Manchester’s mayor Andy Burnham and hand over more to him if Labour win the general election – although the precise details at that stage remained unknown.
The following week, Sir Keir would speak to a veteran of Greater Manchester politics for the very last time. Sir Tony Lloyd, first elected as the MP for his hometown of Stretford in 1983, died aged 73, after his cancer turned into an ‘aggressive and untreatable leukaemia’.
Sir Tony Lloyd’s funeral at St Hugh of Lincoln R.C. Church in Stretford was attended by many famous faces
(Image: ABNM Photography)
He served as the MP for Manchester Central before becoming Greater Manchester’s first police and crime commissioner and ‘interim mayor’ in 2012. He would go on to represent Rochdale in Parliament from 2017 until his death.
The Labour leader returned to Greater Manchester the following month for Sir Tony’s funeral which was held at Hugh of Lincoln Roman Catholic Church in Stretford and was attended by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who gave a reading, among other famous faces. By then, the race to replace Sir Tony in Parliament was well under way.
Workers Party of Britain leader George Galloway, who has long been a thorn in Labour’s side, had already thrown his trademark fedora into the ring by the end of January. Soon after, Labour selected its candidate too – but weeks later, the race was blown wide open.
February
Lancashire councillor Azhar Ali beat Westminster lobby hack Paul Waugh to become Labour’s candidate for the relatively safe seat. But a couple of weeks later, the party dropped him.
It came after he apologised for making ‘deeply offensive’ comments about Israel which were published by the Daily Mail. The party stood by him at first, but after further remarks he’d made came to light, they withdrew their support.
Because the deadline to select candidates for the by-election had past, Coun Ali remained on the ballot paper as the Labour candidate, but the party suspended its campaign meaning they effectively had no candidate in the race. This played right into the hands of Mr Galloway – although, as the M.E.N. found out, Labour already had problems on the streets of Rochdale regardless.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham with Azhar Ali before he was dropped as the Labour candidate
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
The war in Gaza, which Mr Galloway put at the forefront of his campaign, and perceptions of Labour’s position on the conflict, undoubtedly contributed to his ultimate victory in the town where around 20 per cent of the electorate are Muslim. But this was not the only issue on voters’ minds, with some saying they had ‘lost all faith in Labour’, citing a lack of investment in the town.
In the end, it wasn’t even close – Mr Galloway won by a majority of nearly 6,0000. He aimed his victory speech at the Labour leader, declaring “this is for Gaza” and claimed the results were a UK first with none of the mainstream parties finishing in the top two.
Mr Galloway received more votes than the Conservatives, Labour, the Lib Dems, Reform UK and the Greens combined. Remarkably, local businessman David Tully came second as an independent candidate, securing more votes than the big three political parties.
March
In Mr Galloway’s first month as Rochdale MP, he made several spurious claims, such as prematurely declaring that the football club had been saved weeks before it actually had been and by a company that had only expressed an interest. He also caused controversy by speculating on his YouTube talk show that the Princess of Wales was dead, leading to criticism from his fellow Parliamentarians.
In mid-March, a few weeks before the deadline to become a candidate in the race for Greater Manchester mayor, he told the M.E.N. that he was considering standing against Andy Burnham. Days later, he rowed back on the claims, saying that he was still considering a run for mayor, but not until 2028 – although when the M.E.N. asked him to clarify what his intentions were, he declined to comment.
George Galloway falsely declared that Rochdale AFC had been saved in video he posted on social media
(Image: George Galloway)
Mr Burnham meanwhile had other things on his mind. At the end of March, he was busy bringing buses in Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Bury and north Manchester back under public control for the first time since the 1980s as part of his plans to build the Bee Network.
The first stage of bus franchising started six months earlier in Bolton and Wigan. Later in March, ahead of his re-election campaign, Mr Burnham announced plans to bring eight commuter railway lines in the city-region into his London-style public transport system too.
But first, he was forced to apologise for ‘teething troubles’ with the rollout of the Bee Network buses. Commuters were left stranded across Oldham as delays and cancellations blighted the first few weeks of the borough’s brand new bus system.
The mayor said “driver availability” issues were the reason for the disruption and promised the service “will settle” soon. Services did improve, and by September, the mayor proudly reported a rise rise in the number of bus passengers making journeys across Greater Manchester as well as improved reliability.
April
Andy Burnham in front of a Bee Network bus
(Image: Joel Goodman)
The benefits of bringing buses under public control were becoming clearer in April when transport bosses announced that 20 additional buses would be rolled out in a bid to boost services on several routes in Bolton, Wigan and parts of Bury and Salford. And in October, the first new bus route under the Bee Network, running between Wigan and the Trafford Centre, was launched.
But in the political sphere, April was dominated by only one thing. Local council and mayoral elections – including for Greater Manchester’s metro mayor and Salford’s city mayor – would be held the following month, and campaigning was in full swing.
Mr Burnham launched his bid for a third mayoral term at Salford Lads’ Club. The Conservatives had initially selected Dan Barker, a magistrate from Sale who worked in the civil nuclear and defence sector, to stand against the incumbent.
But in March, Mr Barker dramatically defected to Reform UK, accusing the Tories of having ‘given up on Greater Manchester and the North’. Left with just two weeks to select a new candidate, the Conservatives went for Laura Evans who lost to Mr Burnham in 2021.
Mr Burnham, who secured a record 67 per cent of the vote at the previous election, was the firm favourite and councillors across Greater Manchester were hoping that the ‘Burnham bounce’ of 2021 would boost their chances too. And boy, did they need the help.
The war in Gaza was a big issue at the local elections
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
The words of Sir Keir, days after the October 7th massacre in Israel, in which he appeared to say the Jewish state ‘has the right’ to withhold power and water from Gaza, were still echoing across the city-region – despite the Labour leader rowing back on the comments soon after. In Oldham, hours before the deadline for councils to publish their list of candidates for the local elections, two senior Labour councillors quit the party – including one who was up for re-election, leaving Labour with no candidate in one ward.
The issue did not dominate the mayoral elections though. At hustings organised by the M.E.N. in April, candidates were quizzed about transport, housing and policing – and things got heated as Mr Burnham and Mrs Evans clashed over Greater Manchester Police.
May
The first weekend of May was all about the elections. Polls closed at 10pm on Thursday, May 2, with the results declared over the next three days.
In the early hours of Friday (May 3), a pattern began to emerge. In areas with large Muslim populations, Labour were losing votes.
Losses to some independents, Greens and candidates from Mr Galloway’s Worker’s Party in Rochdale, Bolton and Tameside were blamed on the war in Gaza. But in Oldham, as ever, things were a little more complicated.
Labour’s Arooj Shah clung onto power in Oldham
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Labour lost its majority in Oldham. But the independents who made gains were not all aligned, leaving the borough ‘ungovernable’.
After weeks of fraught negotiations, Labour ended up clinging onto power by one vote, having faced off a challenge from a ‘rainbow alliance’ of Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and the Oldham Group Independents. But as part of the deal to stay in power for the next two years, independent councillors would get a bigger say in the council chambers.
Overall, Labour lost more seats than they gained at the local elections, with most losses thought to be linked to the conflict in the Middle East. The most high-profile casualty for Labour was in Longsight where Mr Galloway claimed his biggest scalp.
Manchester council’s deputy leader Luthfur Rahman lost his seat to Workers’ Party candidate Shahbaz Sarwar by a margin of 185 votes. Speaking to the M.E.N. the following week, the ousted councillor accused Mr Galloway’s party of running a ‘divisive’ campaign in which voters were subject to ‘intimidation’ at polling stations – claims the Workers’ Party ‘wholly disputed’ and dismissed as ‘sour grapes’.
For Mr Burnham though, the win was comfortable. He secured a third term as Greater Manchester mayor with support from more than 420,000 people, having won in all 215 council wards across the city-region except one – Werneth where Labour were not campaigning as the incumbent Oldham councillor quit the party at the eleventh hour and stood for re-election as an independent.
The fallout from the local elections was still being felt weeks after polls closed with the power struggle in Oldham not resolved until May 22. Elsewhere though, all eyes were on Westminster where the election we had all been waiting for was about to be called.
A wet Rishi Sunak announces the General Election date outside 10 Downing Street
(Image: PA)
With the New Labour anthem ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ blaring in the background, a rain-soaked Rishi Sunak stood outside No 10 Downing Street to announce that a general election would be held on July 4. National campaigns would kick into gear immediately.
The timing of the announcement was consequential, not least for the mother of Manchester Arena bomb victim Martyn Hett. Figen Murray completed her 200-mile walk from Manchester to London to meet the Prime Minister on the sixth anniversary of the attack.
Mr Sunak, who met with her at Downing Street, promised that Martyn’s Law – the terrorism prevention legislation that she had been campaigning for – would be passed by Parliament that summer. Hours later, he called a general election making that promise virtually impossible to keep.
Speaking to the M.E.N. during a visit to Bury at the end of May, Mr Sunak dismissed claims that he knowingly lied to the campaigner who said that she felt ‘misled’. The following month, Labour leader Sir Keir wrote to Mrs Murray, promising to pass the law if he wins.
June
Keir Starmer visited the Fusilier Museum in Bury
(Image: Getty Images)
The general election campaign was in full swing by June. Sir Keir visited the marginal constituency of Bury North days after Mr Sunak had been there.
But on the ground, Labour activists had their eyes on bigger prizes. Campaigners were being sent to Conservative strongholds such as Altrincham and Sale West, which had been represented by Tory grandee Sir Graham Brady since 1997, with Labour hopeful of big wins.
Labour had a huge lead in the polls – and the Conservatives did not help their case with a series of slip-ups. On June 7, the Prime Minister was forced to apologise after leaving D-Day commemorations in Normandy early to take part in a prerecorded TV interview.
Days later, the Tories were embroiled in a betting scandal with five party figures reported to be under investigation by the gambling watchdog for allegedly placing a bet on the general election date. The party later withdrew support for two of its candidates who were involved. Labour was also forced to suspend a candidate who confirmed he was under investigation for betting against himself.
But Labour’s lead in the polls did not narrow, having overcome an internal row over the selection of candidates earlier in the campaign, including questions over whether left-wing veteran Dianne Abbot would be allowed to stand. By mid-June, Sir Keir was back in Manchester to launch Labour’s manifesto at the Co-Op headquarters with the leader speaking to the M.E.N. later that day.
However, while the Labour camp was enthusiastic about their chances of success, the mood on the streets of Greater Manchester was one of apathy and anger. Labour’s optimism was well-placed though – it was clear that people in the city-region wanted change.
Sir Howard Bernstein, former chief executive of Manchester city council, died in June
(Image: MEN)
Meanwhile, Manchester was marking the end of an era. Sir Howard Bernstein, the man widely credited with spearheading the city’s 21st Century renaissance as the council’s chief executive, died aged 71 following a period of illness.
Sir Howard joined the town hall aged 18 as a junior clerk in 1971 and rose to become one of the UK’s most powerful civil servants outside of Whitehall, famed for his ability to strike a deal. Earlier that month, his successor and Manchester’s first female chief executive Joanne Roney, announced that she would be leaving the town hall and would return to her hometown of Birmingham to help fix the city’s bankrupt council.
The following month, it was announced that Eamonn Boylan, who had just stepped down as chief executive of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) in May, would step out of retirement to run Manchester council on an interim basis. In October, the council announced that Salford chief executive Tom Stannard landed the top job to ‘lead the city for the decade ahead’.
July
At 10pm on July 4 as voting in the general election closed, the exit poll confirmed what had been predicted all along. Labour was forecast to win an historic landslide with 410 seats, while the Tories on a record-low of 131 – and in the end, the gap was even greater.
The Conservatives were completely wiped out in Greater Manchester, losing every single seat including Altrincham which had returned a Tory MP for 100 years. It was a devastating night for the Tories who watched on as ministers were ousted from power, including defence secretary Grant Shapps, education secretary Gillian Keegan and leader of the House of Commons Penny Mourdant.
The big name Tories who lost their seats
(Image: PA)
Jacob Rees Mogg, who rose to prominence in Parliament following Brexit and later served on the government’s frontbench, also lost his seat. But the most extraordinary defeat came late on, when former Prime Minister Liz Truss lost her 26,000 majority to Labour.
It was a good night for the Lib Dems too who won 72 seats overall, including two in Greater Manchester. And while Reform UK did not secure any seats in Greater Manchester, they came second across the city-region and secured five elsewhere in the country – including one for Nigel Farage who, upon announcing his eighth attempt to enter Parliament, gave the party a huge boost nationally.
Things didn’t go so well for Mr Galloway and his party though. Three months after becoming Rochdale’s MP, he was beaten by Paul Waugh who was selected as Labour’s candidate in the constituency at the last moment following his failed first attempt in February.
In total, Greater Manchester elected 11 new MPs, giving Labour 25 of the 27 seats available. And of the incumbent Labour MPs who remained in post, 10 were given jobs in Sir Keir’s new government straight away.
Four members of Keir Starmer’s cabinet represent constituencies in Greater Manchester including Ashton-under-Lyne MP Angela Rayner, Stalybridge and Hyde MP Jonathan Reynolds, Wigan MP Lisa Nandy and Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell. Several other local MPs were also appointed as ministers or government whips, with 12 Greater Manchester MPs now serving in the government.
The Bridgehall estate in Stockport, where Angela Rayner grew up, could now boast a Deputy Prime Minister as well as Manchester City star. But it was also a proud moment for Parrs Wood High School in Didsbury, dubbed the ‘new Eton’, which had two ex-pupils – Ms Powell and Ms Nandy appointed House of Commons Leader and Culture, Media and Sport Secretary respectively – in the cabinet.
Angela Rayner enters 10 Downing Street as she is appointed Deputy Prime Minister
For the first few days of the new government, it felt like Greater Manchester was at the centre of British politics. Several senior government ministers visited the city-region in their first week in power alone in what they described as a ‘statement of intent’.
Ms Nandy gave her first interview as the ‘minister of fun’ to the M.E.N. during a visit to Gigg Lane in Bury. Transport secretary Louise Haigh visited Oldham to talk buses during her first week in post, while Ms Rayner’s first ministerial visit was to north Manchester.
Andy Burnham also found himself back around the cabinet table within days of Labour’s win. Speaking to the M.E.N. afterwards, the Greater Manchester mayor said the meeting with Sir Keir – attended by regional leaders across the country – signified a big change.
The following week, Labour set out their legislative agenda with 40 bills featured in the King’s Speech – including two laws the M.E.N. has campaigned for. Awaab’s Law, named after the two-year-old boy who died from mould in his damp flat in Rochdale, would be extended to the private sector, the government announced, requiring landlords fix health hazards like damp within strict timescales.
Martyn’s Law, formally known as the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, which also featured in the King’s Speech, would go on to clear the House of Commons in December. But despite a triumphant first few weeks in power, Labour’s honeymoon didn’t last long.
Long before the election, the party announced that it would not reverse the two-child benefit cap that the Conservatives introduced several years earlier. And despite child poverty campaigners urging the government to change its position, Sir Keir would not budge.
Salford MP Rebecca Long-Bailey was suspended for rebelling on a vote about the two-child benefit cap
He was ruthless in his response to MPs who rebelled against him. Salford MP Rebecca Long-Bailey was one of seven MPs to be suspended after defying the party whip and has been forced to sit in Parliament as an independent ever since the vote in July.
The following week, the stage was set for another controversial vote – but the row would rumble on all summer. Announcing a series of spending cuts, Chancellor Rachel Reeves revealed that the winter fuel payment would be taken away from millions of pensioners.
She blamed the Tories for leaving a £22bn black hole in the public finances – much of which was made up of pay rises for public sector workers they hadn’t budgeted for. She also announced a review of major projects, including the huge rebuild of a Manchester hospital.
The long-promised transformation of North Manchester General Hospital could now face further delays as the government decides whether to go ahead with the scheme. The M.E.N. has since launched a campaign calling for the urgent rebuild to go ahead in 2025.
The honeymoon was well and truly over by the end of July when a horrific knife attack which killed three children in Southport triggered riots across the country.
August
Riot police in Piccadilly Gardens
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
In August, Piccadilly Gardens saw sickening scenes of violence where a mob attacked a lone black male during the riots.
And while Greater Manchester was not host to perhaps the ugliest of scenes that week – which culminated in a hotel housing asylum seekers almost set on fire – Bolton, Newton Heath and Manchester city centre all experienced violent disorder. This included thugs smashing the windscreen of a bus and hurling bricks and bottles at police as dozens gathered outside a hotel housing asylum seekers.
There were false alarms elsewhere in Greater Manchester too, the most notable of which came on a Wednesday night when police were preparing to respond to more than 100 planned protests and demonstrations across the country. In the end, counter-protesters and anti-racist activists outnumbered those threatening to gather outside immigration offices in Bolton, Cheadle, Wigan and Oldham.
It was a moment when peace conquered hate on our streets. But the events left many people shaken up – and understandably so.
The Prime Minister condemned what he described as ‘far-right thuggery’ and warned that those who took part in the violence – directly, or by ‘whipping up’ tensions online – would live to regret it. In a punchy speech, he vowed that those responsible would face the ‘full force of the law’ – and that they did, with some jailed within days of the violent disorder.
But weeks later, other criminals were being released early from prisons which had reached their capacity.
September
Prisoners being released early from HMP Manchester Strangeways prison
(Image: Sean Hansford Manchester Evening News)
Around 1,700 prisoners were released early in September. Speaking to the M.E.N. outside Strangeways in Manchester, some freed inmates said ‘no one knew what was happening’ over where they were supposed to live sparking fears of a spike in homelessness.
The following month, a further 1,100 prisoners were released. It followed a damning report earlier that month which revealed serious problems plaguing Strangeways with inspectors finding HMP Manchester was ‘filthy’, rife with organised crime, a chronic rat infestation and ‘catastrophic levels’ of drugs – sentiments former inmates echoed as they were released a few weeks later.
The headlines hurt Labour, as the party had little to announce while waiting for Rachel Reeves to present Labour’s first budget in government. But released prisoners thanking Sir Keir as they walked free were not the only thing Labour had to worry about.
A row over freebies for MPs engulfed Westminster when it was revealed that the Prime Minister received more than £100,000 in gifts including football tickets and luxury clothing for him and his wife. He was not the only MP to come under fire for accepting freebies.
Although the gifts he declared over the last five years were far more than any other MP during that period, some Greater Manchester MPs were forced to explain themselves too. Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell, who is the leader of the House of Commons, came second in the list having declared £40,289 worth of gifts since December 2019 with four other Greater Manchester MPs in the top 10.
The Labour MP had served as the Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport for nearly two years and received many of the gifts during that period – but she continued to accept free football tickets after that. Appearing on Question Time in Ashton-under-Lyne in the week that the freebie figures were revealed, Ms Powell was forced to defend herself and her colleagues.
Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell appearing on Question Time in September
A few weeks later Sir Keir paid back more than £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality which he received since becoming Prime Minister. He has now promised to bring forward new guidance on gifts for MPs.
Then came party conference season. Weeks out from the budget, there was little that the party was prepared to announce, meaning much of the coverage revolved around the various internal party rows. The climax of the conference in Liverpool, an hour-long speech by Sir Keir in which he articulated his vision for the UK, promising that there will be a ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ after a period of doom and gloom.
Greater Manchester MPs hoped the speech would help the party turn a corner. But despite promises that there would be no return to austerity, the city-region was left with further uncertainty over the future of major projects including a new railway line to Liverpool.
October
Bizarrely, the Conservative Party conference was more buoyant. The Tories were ready to move on from their huge electoral loss and rebuild as the four remaining candidates in the race to replace Mr Sunak as the opposition leader made their pitch to party members.
But first, there was a bit of blood-letting to do. Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen hit out at his party, accusing the Conservatives of being ‘absolutely terrible’ and ‘incompetent’, losing the trust of British people and failing to deliver on promises to level up the North.
Meanwhile, Michael Gove – who served in the government for 13 of the last 14 years – described Liz Truss’s mini-budget in 2022 as ‘flawed’, despite defending her intentions. The ex-Prime Minister, however, claimed that she would have won if she stayed in power.
The Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham
(Image: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)
Speaking to the M.E.N. at the party conference in Birmingham, former Bolton West MP Chris Green who lost his nearly-9,000 majority to Labour at the election, said the cost of living, the war in Ukraine and Covid all played a major part in the Tories’ defeat. But ultimately, he found there was an overwhelming feeling that things needed to change after 14 years of the Conservatives in power.
But there was one thing that some Tories still seemed to be in deniable about – their broken promises over transport in the North. Lord Moylan, who was a Tory transport spokesperson, suggested that the North does not have enough people to warrant rail investment, clarifying his comments to the M.E.N. the next day by saying the region is not ‘entitled’ to investment in public transport.
One month later, the Tories would appoint Kemi Badenoch as their new leader. During the party conference, the Essex MP was the only one of the four remaining leadership candidates who refused to tell the M.E.N. what she would do for the North if she wins.
There was some blood-letting taking place in Labour-land too at the start of October. Sue Gray, the former senior civil servant who became Sir Keir’s chief of staff last year as Labour were preparing to take power, quit after months of infighting at Downing Street.
Ms Gray, who was particularly popular among metro mayors including Mr Burnham in Greater Manchester, was offered a job as the Prime Minister’s envoy to the nations and regions. But in November, No 10 confirmed that Ms Gray had decided ‘not to take it up’.
Downing Street was not the only organisation facing big changes at the top. Things came to a head at Tameside council in October, weeks after a damning report by a government commissioner into the local authority which was accused of letting children down.
Sandra Stewart stepped down from her role as chief executive at Tameside council
(Image: Tameside Council)
The chief executive stood down, several councillors quit and others refused to serve in the cabinet, ultimately resulting in the resignation of the leader and his deputies. That week, the Labour Party sent its own officials to Tameside to help pick a new leader.
It follows another damning report into Tameside council’s failure to get a grip of its children’s services. The report published by a government commissioner last month is just the latest in a long list of warnings from watchdogs dating back nearly a decade.
Newly appointed council leader Eleanor Wills promised a ‘culture reset’ when she was appointed to the role the following week. Oldham chief executive Harry Catherall was also brought into run the town hall next door, filling the vacant post on an interim basis.
October also saw a former Manchester councillor suspended as a Labour MP in Cheshire after a video emerged appearing to show him ‘punching a man to the ground’ in Frodsham. Runcorn and Helsby MP is due to appear in court in January accused of assault.
Back in Westminster, it was budget day on October 30. In the end, there weren’t many big surprises with many of the announcements reported before the Chancellor presented her plans for tax and spending in Parliament – but the numbers were pretty astonishing.
Ms Reeves revealed that the new government would raise an extra £40bn in taxes, including increases to employer’s national insurance contributions, capital gains and a new tax on vaping. Ending inheritance tax relief for farmers also caused quite a stir.
But billions of pounds more would go to the NHS, schools and housing while there would be an increase in the minimum wage to £12.21 an hour. Ms Reeves also confirmed funding to complete the TransPennine Route Upgrade between York and Manchester.
November
Chancellor Rachel Reeves with Transport Secretary Louise Haigh (left) and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham (right)
(Image: Danny Lawson/PA Wire)
The following week, the Chancellor was in Greater Manchester with transport secretary Louise Haigh to meet with mayor Andy Burnham and talk to the media about rail upgrades announced for the North. The only thing was, these plans were not new.
The upgrade programme, which promises faster and more reliable services from Manchester to Leeds, had been delayed by more than a decade. The electrification of the Manchester to Stalybridge section of the route is due to be complete by the end of the year.
In the budget, Ms Reeves also announced funding to electrify the Bolton to Wigan line, upgrades at Manchester Victoria and £250m for the long awaited upgrade to the A57 link road to Sheffield. Speaking to the M.E.N. at Stalybridge station, Ms Reeves said that, although the project had been announced many times before, the difference was that this time, there was money to pay for it.
November also saw the M.E.N. launch a campaign that was later raised in Parliament, having received the support of several MPs, charities and the local council. The campaign, which calls for the government protect victims of domestic abuse by introducing a mandatory minimum prison sentences for perpetrators who breach protective orders, was inspired by the family of Caroline Gore.
The 44-year-old cleaner from Wigan was killed by her abusive ex-partner at her flat on the Scholes estate in October 2023, just weeks after he was spared jail for breaching a restraining order. Speaking to the M.E.N. as the government introduced new measures to protect domestic abuse victims, safeguarding minister Jess Phillips said shocking cases like Caroline’s do lead to changes in the law.
A few days later, an historic vote took place in Parliament with MPs voting in favour of assisted dying. Of the 27 Greater Manchester MPs, 12 voted in favour of the bill and 11 against with no vote recorded for the other four, three of whom were otherwise engaged.
Campaigners hold placards as they protest in support of assisted dying
(Image: Carl Court/Getty Images)
The bill will now go to committee stage where MPs can table amendments, before facing further scrutiny and votes in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, meaning any change in the law would not be agreed until next year at the earliest.
The momentous vote in Parliament also served to overshadow another bad headline for Labour. Sheffield MP Louise Haigh became the first casualty of Sir Keir’s cabinet at the end of November after it emerged that she had been convicted of fraud a decade earlier.
She resigned as Transport Secretary after it emerged that she was convicted of fraud in 2013 when she admitted to incorrectly telling police that a work mobile phone had been stolen. Her departure was seen as a blow to many in Greater Manchester, and across the North of England, who were encouraged by the efforts of the Northern MP to improve transport infrastructure across the region.
December
The run-up to Christmas is always a busy period in politics, especially for a new government keen to make its mark. December saw the Deputy Prime Minister, who also serves as housing, communities and local government secretary, announce reforms to planning.
She insists the changes will not remove local democratic power from councils, but will speed up the planning process to help build the 1.5m homes Labour have promised. The move was controversial, with some fearing it could mean losing more green belt land.
There are concerns that planning reforms will open the door to more green belt land being built on
The concerns were partly prompted by the government increasing housing targets. But for most of Greater Manchester, that shouldn’t make a difference because nine of the 10 councils in the city-region have already agreed to a joint housing plan for the next 15 years.
The Places for Everyone plan, which replaced the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework when Stockport pulled out in 2020, was finally approved earlier this year after a decade-long saga. But it isn’t quite all over yet, with an appeal now going to the High Court.
Perhaps the most significant political moment of 2024 came in the last week before Christmas. But you might have missed it.
It was a proud moment for Greater Manchester as Ms Rayner, one of our own, announced the biggest shake-up of local government in generations – and it all happened because of Manchester. That’s according to Mr Burnham who welcomed the devolution plans.
The Greater Manchester mayor praised his predecessors who pioneered the model of English devolution that will now be rolled out across the country. And while Mr Burnham did not get everything he wanted, he said the measures mean he can do ‘much more’.
Under the plans, the mayor will have the power to intervene on developments, allowing him to overturn decisions on planning applications that have been rejected by local councillors. He will also have more control over funding to build affordable housing.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has been given new powers over planning
(Image: Mark Waugh Manchester Press Photography Ltd)
The proposals also open the door for the mayor to take control of train stations and redevelop the areas around them. He will also hopes to use increased influence over rail to increase the number of services as he brings them into his Bee Network transport system.
However, Mr Burnham hoped that the government would go further in devolving power over technical education and skills. He told the M.E.N. that he will make it his ‘mission’ to keep fighting for this as well as making the case for introducing a tourist tax in the city.
Asked how significant the announcement is for devolution in England, Mr Burnham said: “It’s by far the most significant and I think possibly the most that we’ll see in our lifetimes. Because this is a White Paper that is kind of tilting the running of the country away from Whitehall and Westminster and towards the regions and it’s doing that systematically as opposed to a deal here or there.
“This is much more significant in saying that this is the model now for everywhere. It’s irreversible. It’s huge.”
He added: “We’ve changed the country. It’s incredible what Greater Manchester has achieved.”