Two years ago as the country was about to swear in its sixth Prime Minister in eight years, I wrote an open letter congratulating Sir Kier but setting out some areas he might like to address to break the cycle of self-centred politics. As we enter the second week of Andy Burnham’s premiership, I could republish that letter as we find our self in an unchanged state, but I won’t.
Not the first PM to oversee a police force
The greatest predictor of future behaviour is past performance. For the second time we have a Prime Minister who has been responsible for the policing of a major city. Like Boris Johnson, who was Mayor of London and therefore held the role of Police and Crime Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police, Andy Burnham as mayor of Manchester performed the PCC function that area. PCCs are responsible for their police service’s governance and hold their chief officer to account for performance and efficiency. It’s not a passive or ceremonial role. Under Sir Kier Starmer’s leadership the government announced they were abolishing PCCs and there’s no reason to believe that will change.
A rocky start in Manchester
So, let’s have a look at Andy Burnham’s history with policing to see whether he’s likely to be good or bad for law and order. When he first became mayor, he had a strained relationship with Greater Manchester Police and three years into his tenure the force was placed into special measures following a highly critical inspectorate report. He played a prominent part in removing the then Chief Constable, Ian Hopkins, and the appointment of his successor, Sir Stephen Watson. That might seem strong leadership, and it probably was, but we have to remember that Burnham had been in his role for three years and therefore was responsible for Mr Hopkins’ and therefore the force’s performance but it took the inspectorate to point out their failings.
Winning the force’s confidence
Since then those who worked with him within that force seemed to regard him favourably. Even the chair of Greater Manchester Police Federation, the staff association that represents officers up to the rank of chief inspector, told Police Oracle that Mr Burnham ‘was happy to listen and showed interest in the issues facing policing in Greater Manchester’. He goes on to say that Burnham ‘gave a lot of support for GMP.’ It’s not surprising that the Chief Constable is a fan as Burnham appointed Sir Stephen on a clear mandate to get back to policing basics, banish what he called ‘virtue signalling’ in the police and provide a robust, visible and equitable service for all those within the Greater Manchester area. There is no doubt that the force has improved and is regaining trust and confidence. As with any statistic the impressive ones published by the Greater Manchester police have to be taken into context but crime reductions, higher arrest rates and improved emergency call handling are not to be sniffed at.
No apologist for the police
Burnham is no apologist for the police though. It was he who, having been booed at a Hillsborough Disaster Memorial at Anfield Stadium, convinced the then Prime Minister to change legislation and set the path for a new inquest and criminal prosecutions into police officers and others involved in the disaster. He commissioned Dame Vera Baird QC’s review of the treatment of women in custody which identified serious failings including inappropriate strip searches and poor treatment of vulnerable women. When videos emerged of officers apparently assaulting some young men at Manchester Airport he initially criticised the officers, then once he was shown the full footage, had the courage to rein back on his censure and warned the public that there was more to the incident than met the eye.
He was deeply critical of GMP following the publication of the Manchester Arena Public Inquiry report saying they had ‘failed badly due to poor leadership, a poor internal culture and an inability to collaborate properly.’ He criticised senior police officers for misleading his office during his early weeks of mayor regarding the bombing.
So, good or bad for policing?
So we seem to have a Prime Minister with a track record of being both a policing supporter and critic. Whether the enormity of leading the country waters down his conditional support time will tell but maybe, finally, we have a Prime Minister who gets that policing is an important and complex public service and deserves his support.
international team so have to satisfy yourself throwing cheap brickbats of those who know, and are, better.
I originally wrote this for my weekly column in The Argus, published on Monday, 27 July 2026.
