Manchesterism

For the 19th century ideology, see Manchester Liberalism.

Manchesterism is the political philosophy and the policy agenda followed by Andy Burnham during his tenure as mayor of Greater Manchester from 2017 to 2026. It is not to be confused with the 19th-century pro-free-trade Manchester Liberalism associated with Richard Cobden and John Bright, also known as Manchesterism.

Burnham has characterised Manchesterism as "the end of neo-liberalism", "business-friendly socialism" and "a modern and functional response to the high-inequality, low-growth trap that came from the 1980s drive to privatise economic power and overcentralise political power in the Treasury". In a speech to the Centre for Cities, Burnham described it as a perspective that aimed to combine economic development with social benefits, with policies designed to explicitly channel the proceeds of growth towards communities, rejecting trickle-down economics. Examples of such policies he cited included re-establishing public control of buses through the creation of the Bee Network, and the Good Growth Fund, which provided £1 billion for three projects in each of Greater Manchester's boroughs. He stressed that such initiatives were only possible due to devolution, countering historical trends of political centralisation, although he also advocated for increased devolution of fiscal powers.

Background and development

Greater Manchester's experience with devolution since the early 2010s, including the formation of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, provided the context for these policies. Burnham's mayoralty built on earlier regeneration efforts under figures like Richard Leese and Howard Bernstein. Manchesterism has been presented as a model for balancing growth with equity, with stronger employment and economic performance in the city-region relative to national averages in certain periods.

Burnham has also argued that the cost-of-living crisis of the 2020s has roots in Thatcherism, suggesting that the deregulation and privatisation of the 1980s led to increases in the costs of essential goods, noting the effects of Right to Buy on an unregulated rental sector resulting in increasing state expenditure on Housing Benefit. He contends that such problems were exacerbated by government austerity and Brexit. Manchesterism has also been characterised as embodying collaboration and partnership working between stakeholders, including cooperation between government, business and trade unions, different public services, community groups, and administrations of different political complexions among Greater Manchester's borough councils.

Reception and analysis

Commentators have noted its pragmatic, place-first character. Writing for the Financial Times in May 2026, Stephen Bush argued that the policy offer Burnham was making as a prospective Labour Party leader was to the left of that he had actually implemented during his mayoralty, which in turn was to the right of the stance of the Starmer ministry, although he suggested that this may be due to the institutional constraints on and weaknesses of the metro mayor role. In a January 2026 piece for the London Review of Books, Michael Chessum compared Manchesterism's emphasis on moving away from neoliberalism to the approaches to governance advocated by the socialist parties of Spain and Portugal. As Burnham returned to Parliament via the 2026 Makerfield by-election amid Labour leadership discussions, Manchesterism gained attention as a potential national framework, particularly regarding devolution, public service reforms, and regional economic strategy.