Andy Burnham, Mayor of Manchester, on thinking bigger in politics

In this episode we are joined by Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, to better understand the purpose of a mayor. We explore Andy's role as Chief Marketing Officer of Manchester, the role of a mayor in galvanising change, devolution and how best to cooperate in tackling our most important challenges. Andy was elected as Mayor of Greater Manchester in May 2017. Under his leadership Manchester has the mission to be a healthy, green, socially just city where everyone can thrive, with the ambitious target to become a zero carbon city by 2038. Prior to this Andy was MP for Leigh from 2001. In government, Andy has held Ministerial positions at the Home Office, Department of Health and the Treasury. In 2008 he became Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, before returning to Health as Secretary of State in 2009. In opposition, Andy has served as Shadow Education Secretary, Shadow Health Secretary and Shadow Home Secretary. Andy mentions his new book Head North: A Rallying Cry for a More Equal Britain, which he co-authored with Steve Rotherham, Mayor of Liverpool City Region. This episode was recorded at a live event in September 2023 and is hosted by Paul Skinner founder of ⁠the MarketingKind community⁠, director of Agency of the Future and author of The Purpose Upgrade and Collaborative Advantage.