Who is Andy Burnham and what is his background? | BBC News — Transcript

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1. 0:00People here have voted for change.
2. 0:04>> Andy Bernham is a man who likes to run.
3. 0:06Here he is running for Labour leader in
4. 0:082010.
5. 0:09>> I'm not a factional politician. I always
6. 0:11put party first.
7. 0:13>> Ed Milliband won that contest. Here he
8. 0:15is running to be Labour leader again in
9. 0:172015.
10. 0:18>> I wouldn't do anything to harm the
11. 0:20interests of the Labour Party.
12. 0:22>> The winner that time was Jeremy Corbyn.
13. 0:25In 2017, Andy Burnham left Westminster
14. 0:28and ran for mayor of Greater Manchester.
15. 0:30He won by a landslide,
16. 0:32>> $359.
17. 0:35>> Now he's won again and will return to
18. 0:38Westminster as MP for Makerfield. The
19. 0:41latest step on the road to Downing
20. 0:43Street for him.
21. 0:45Where did his marathon to the top begin?
22. 0:48Here in Liverpool, Andrew Murray Bernham
23. 0:51was born in 1970 in Entry.
24. 0:55Liverpool was the setting for the seinal
25. 0:58TV show Boys from the Black Stuff. It
26. 1:01went out when unemployment was high and
27. 1:03left a lasting impression, including on
28. 1:06the young Andy Bernham, who credits the
29. 1:08show with inspiring him to join the
30. 1:10Labour Party.
31. 1:11>> I like to be noticed.
32. 1:14Have you noticed that? His parents, a BT
33. 1:17engineer and a receptionist, were
34. 1:19already staunch Labour supporters.
35. 1:22He got his first break in politics when
36. 1:24he was hired as a researcher for MP
37. 1:26Tessa Jalo. He rose quickly and became
38. 1:28the Labour candidate for Lee in Greater
39. 1:30Manchester back in 2001.
40. 1:32>> My primary job is to serve the people of
41. 1:35Lee to the best of my abilities. Uh
42. 1:37that's what I'm going to Westminster to
43. 1:39do if I get there.
44. 1:40>> He got there and cabinet roles soon
45. 1:43followed.
46. 1:44It was as culture secretary that he was
47. 1:47heckled at a memorial service marking
48. 1:49the 20th anniversary of the Hillsbor
49. 1:52tragedy which caused the deaths of 97
50. 1:54Liverpool fans.
51. 1:55>> Those who helped the dying on that day
52. 1:58and the many thousands more ever since
53. 2:00who have so respectfully kept their
54. 2:02memory alive.
55. 2:04>> Subsequently, Andy Burden became a
56. 2:06campaigner for the families who lost
57. 2:07loved ones in the disaster.
58. 2:09>> It has been the privilege of my life to
59. 2:11work with them all. They have prevailed
60. 2:14against all the odds. They have kept
61. 2:16their dignity in the face of terrible
62. 2:19adversity. They could not have shown a
63. 2:22more profound love for those they lost
64. 2:24on that day.
65. 2:31>> In 2003, Andy Bernham voted for the Iraq
66. 2:34war. I think what you're seeing is Tony
67. 2:36Blair taking what he thinks is is a very
68. 2:38difficult decision, but the right
69. 2:40decision in terms of the stability of
70. 2:42the world and upholding the will of the
71. 2:44United Nations. Not may not always sit
72. 2:46comfortably with political expediency at
73. 2:48home.
74. 2:49>> A defining moment of Tony Blair's
75. 2:51government and for the MPs who backed
76. 2:52him and who have long had to defend
77. 2:55their decision.
78. 2:56>> I don't back away from the original
79. 2:57decision and I did vote for the war. I
80. 3:00did that because I believe it gave hope
81. 3:02to people in that country of a better
82. 3:04future.
83. 3:06>> He was health secretary when Labour lost
84. 3:08power in 2010. His profile high enough
85. 3:10for him to have that first go at running
86. 3:12for labor leader.
87. 3:14>> Now the prime minister and the leader of
88. 3:15our party has chosen to step down. It's
89. 3:17right for a a new generation to step
90. 3:19forward.
91. 3:22>> Ultimately, he ran Greater Manchester as
92. 3:25mayor. Tonight, Greater Manchester
93. 3:27stands on the verge of a great new era.
94. 3:30This is our moment.
95. 3:32>> He won with more than 60% of the vote.
96. 3:35>> Monday morning, I'll be establishing a
97. 3:36new mayor's homelessness fund.
98. 3:38>> He brought bus services back into public
99. 3:40control and took on Boris Johnson's
100. 3:42Conservative government during CO
101. 3:44pushing back against lockdown
102. 3:45restrictions.
103. 3:47>> This is no way to run the country in a
104. 3:50national crisis. It isn't. This pandemic
105. 3:53has hit the north of England harder.
106. 3:56>> It was then he was nicknamed King of the
107. 3:58North. But the North wasn't enough. He's
108. 4:01been on Labour leadership maneuvers
109. 4:03since last year.
110. 4:04>> Did it get a bit out of control after
111. 4:06that long piece in the New Statesman all
112. 4:08about Andy Burnham.
113. 4:08>> But he needed to stand as an MP in a
114. 4:10bi-election in order to get back to
115. 4:12Westminster. You can't run for Labour
116. 4:14leader unless you're an MP. He was
117. 4:16blocked from being Labour's candidate in
118. 4:18Gorton and Denton. The Greens won that
119. 4:20after Labour's dropping in this year's
120. 4:22local elections and the consequent noise
121. 4:24about Sakir Starmmer's leadership.
122. 4:26>> I take responsibility.
123. 4:27>> Finding a seat took on a new urgency.
124. 4:30>> Josh Simons will stand down for Andy
125. 4:33Burman. I am resigning as MP for
126. 4:35Makerfield. I'm standing aside so that
127. 4:37Andy Burnham can return to his home,
128. 4:40fight to re-enter Parliament, and if
129. 4:42elected, drive the change our country is
130. 4:45crying out for. Two very important
131. 4:47little words there everyone. If elected
132. 4:53>> if you know people say you know it's all
133. 4:55necessary. I think this is a very
134. 4:56necessary election. It's about fixing
135. 5:00politics cuz it's not been working for
136. 5:02people and people have a really strong
137. 5:04sense of that.
138. 5:05>> During an interview with us on Newsight,
139. 5:07he declined to explain what the
140. 5:09chancellor's fiscal rules were.
141. 5:10>> I'm I'm not going to go through a
142. 5:12discussion like a you know an exam on on
143. 5:15the fiscal rules. I know what the fiscal
144. 5:16rules are. I've been very I've been No,
145. 5:19I've been very clear about it. We will
146. 5:23set out a plan that is within those
147. 5:25rules.
148. 5:26>> That caused some concern amongst Labour
149. 5:28MPs. He'll be looking up fiscal rules
150. 5:30and much else if he's to run for prime
151. 5:32minister and maybe have less time for
152. 5:35his other interests. He enjoys playing
153. 5:36football and watching it. He's an
154. 5:38Everton fan.
155. 5:46And there's his interest in Manchester's
156. 5:48music scene, which growing up gave him
157. 5:50an identity, he said. Organizers of this
158. 5:54year's Labour Conference might already
159. 5:56be considering their leaders entrance
160. 5:58track. Andy Bernham's a fan of the Stone
161. 6:00Roses who sang I want to be adored, I am
162. 6:03the resurrection, and this is the one.