Star date: 6th May 2017

BURNHAM APPOINTS MANC COUNCIL LEADER LEESE AS DEPUTY MAYOR

Andy Burnham, who swept to power as Greater Manchester Mayor yesterday, has appointed Manchester City Council Leader, Richard Leese, as his Deputy in a move that will disappoint many of his supporters. Manchester Shield has already called the appointment "sad".

Former Stretford and Urmston MP, Beverley Hughes, has been appointed to the paid role of Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, and Bury Council Leader, Rishi Shori, has been handed the portfolio for young people and social cohesion.

Full details here...

Andy Burnham, elected as Greater Manchester Mayor yesterday with 63% of the vote, has announced the first three members of his new team in a move that will already disappoint many of his supporters.

Manchester City Council Leader, Richard Leese, has been appointed Deputy Mayor and will lead on business and economy issues. Leese has overseen vast amounts of public money supporting big developers, including £12.6million spent on pavements and squares around NOMA, while running a Council that been evicting homeless people from its own streets (see here and see here).

Andy Burnham has pledged to work to solve the homeless crisis by 2020, yet Richard Leese is hardly a best figurehead for this. When homeless people were evicted from the Ducie Bridge pub in Manchester, campaigner Chris Blaine went on the roof of the building demanding talks with Richard Leese about the homeless crisis...Chris was arrested and given eight weeks in Strangeways for his efforts...

"I'm on the roof in protest at the Co-op, NOMA and Manchester City Council" Chris told the Salford Star at the time "...they would rather see the homeless dying in doorways." (see here)

This afternoon, Manchester Shield, which campaigns against inappropriate development in Manchester, called Leese's appointment "sad"...

Also appointed to the role of Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is Beverley Hughes, the former MP for Stretford and Urmston, who is now a 'Baroness'. Hughes was outed during the MPs' expenses scandal for spending £150 a month on cleaning for her second home.

Bury Council Leader, Rishi Shori, has been handed the portfolio for young people and social cohesion. None of the three appointees can be seen as radical supporters of Jeremy Corbyn.

Of the three roles announced today, only Beverley Hughes will be paid with a salary still "to be determined". A similar job taken up controversially by former Salford Councillor Sareda Dirir, as Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire, attracted a salary of £50,000 a year (see here).

"I am committed to delivering on my promises to the people of Greater Manchester and a strong leadership team is key to achieving that" says Andy Burnham "Sir Richard Leese and Beverley Hughes bring a wealth of experience, expertise and passion to their respective roles. I look forward to working with them to make Greater Manchester the best place to live, work, grow up and get on in life.
 
"Young people are at the heart of my plan for Greater Manchester and deserve a strong voice in the decisions that ultimately affect them" he explains "By appointing Rishi Shori as the portfolio holder for Young People and Social Cohesion and raising this role to become part of my leadership team, I am inviting every young person to work with us to ensure they have the opportunities they need to get on in life.
 
"People are talking about stable leadership" he adds "Greater Manchester has had it for the last twenty years and with this leadership team we will have it going forward. In testing times Greater Manchester will need its best team on the pitch and that is what today's announcement achieves."

For full details of the Greater Manchester Election and how Salford voted see previous salford Star article and follow the links – click here