𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Andy Burnham wants to bring ‘No.10’ to the North – so we visited Downing Street in Manchester to quiz locals about our new Prime Minister-in-waiting. In his first speech since launching his Labour leadership bid, Burnham announced on Monday he would create a new “No 10 North” unit in Manchester if he replaces outgoing PM Sir Keir Starmer.

But while London’s Downing Street has housed the nation’s leader for 300 years and boasts a world famous Georgian front door, Manchester’s poor sister does not even have a ‘No.10’. Just south of the city centre, Manchester’s Downing Street is only a few hundred yards long. It joins London Road to Ardwick Green – named after an adjacent small park – before morphing into the A6 Stockport Road heading south to Cheshire. Blink and you miss it.

Downing Street in London may be the supposed home of UK democracy – but this one is just home to a small industrial estate with a Speedy vehicle hire store, Spirit Studios and the Fabric Church.

The trouble is they are all on the ‘odd number side’.

On the even number side where you would hope to find number 10 there is nothing but a small patch of grass, an empty, mangled metal shop sign and some undecipherable graffiti.

People walking down Downing Street are invariably going somewhere else – either to Ardwick Green to relax in the park by its Gallipoli war memorial or simply heading in or out of the city centre.

Police worker Stephen Hogg, 62, of Didsbury, Greater Manchester, was getting his car MOT’ed opposite the green when we grabbed him and wife Sharon, 57, for a chat about the seat of power moving in part to Manchester.

Stephen bemoaned: “It’s not the same country as it used to be – it’s gone to pot.”

Blasting Burnham’s lack of any clear policies yet, he said: “I don’t think there is a great deal of substance to what he is saying yet.

“It’s all right talking the talk but can he walk the walk?

“Look, I can see the benefit to the country perhaps of devolving power away from Westminster as long as that doesn’t take the responsibility away from Government.

“If they devolve everything, what responsibility will the Government end up having for running the country?

“My other concern is I have not seen any costings of his policies yet, or any fine detail about how this is going to actually be implemented.”

Touching on the fact Burnham is repeatedly dodging being grilled by the media and only making statements without fielding any questions from the press, Stephen remarked: “He hasn’t taken any questions whatsoever, but I do think we need a firm leadership in charge of our country.

“Let’s be brutally honest, our country’s on its, to use army parlance, it’s on its chin strap. We’ve had too many lightweights following the same path.

“The UK needs to move in the same direction and you need strong leadership to do that. I just hope Burnham can actually step up to the plate and turn the country around, because we’re lost.

“There’s nothing but discord in our country and that frightens me to death. We also have to look at society as a whole.

“I hope Burnham’s strong. I hope he keeps his word. I hope there’s substance to what he’s saying.”

Housewife Sharon told us: “My concerns are for the generations coming after us – there’s no housing yet when you see there’s an estate where they are just going to house immigrants, how can that be fair?

“Our children can’t get on the housing ladder because it’s so expensive. I think we need to invest in our children’s future and their children’s future.”

Other locals were willing to give Andy Burnham a chance, based on his huge popularity in Greater Manchester as mayor for 10 years – and a record of attracting foreign investment and regeneration into the city.

Youth worker Beth Bright, 31, watched Burnham’s recent rise from mayor to MP to now PM-elect with interest – as her parents still live in his newly-won Ashton-in-Makerfield constituency.

Beth told us: “I think he’ll make a really good Prime Minister.

“Part of what I love about Andy Burnham is that he’s a voice for so many voiceless towns in the North and I’m really passionate about that, so I’m excited to see what that will look like as he gets into power.

“It’s a hard thing to do – to be the voice for everyone.”

Reflecting on whether residents in Makerfield are thrilled by him becoming their new MP she added: “I think the majority of people that I know there are excited.

“But I think they’ll hold him accountable to what he’s said. If they’re not happy with him, they’ll let him know!”

We spotted maths graduate Daisy Harding, 22, and civil engineering master’s graduate Toby Gray, 23, outside the new Fabric Church mission at 1 Ardwick Green.

Affiliated with the Church of England, Fabric Church has taken over a former car garage on the street and now welcomes hundreds of worshippers a week.

Daisy is originally from Horsham, in West Sussex but is doing an internship at the church. She told us or Burnham’s idea to create a No.10 in Manchester: “I think it’s a great idea. I think it really inspires the North generally as a region.

“I think it validates that this is where millions of people live and big decisions should be made up here too.”

On Burnham himself she added: “I think he seems like a man of the people. And I think his vision and the way that he’s really revitalising areas of politics is exciting and gives him new energy.”

Toby told us Burnham needs to galvanise a fractured Labour Party first, explaining: “It just about bringing people together, that’s just the hard part about politics.”

Leaving Downing Street in Manchester was simple – you just keep walking for around one minute and you have covered the whole road.

Soon Andy Burnham will be entering London’s Downing Street and will be hoping his stay will be a bit longer.