Andy Burnham, current Greater Manchester Mayor, has today announced his manifesto for the Mayoral Election on 2 May.
Hailing the regions’ recent development, Burnham, announcing his manifesto at the Salford Lad’s Club proclaimed: “This is a big moment for Greater Manchester.”
The manifesto focused in on three key areas: housing, education and benefits.
On housing, Burnham wants to designate Greater Manchester as the UK’s ‘housing first’ city region, where housing is affordable and plentiful.
To do this, Burnham proposed the construction of 30,000 net zero council homes, with an aim for low rents and running costs within the buildings.
Additionally, the introduction of a Greater Manchester Good Landlord Charter, which will recognise landlords ‘who try to do the right thing’ and will identify those who do not.
Renters will also be empowered through the right to request a property check if their property is substandard.
The Greater Manchester Authority will have the power to serve improvement notices to landlords, but also reserve the right to use compulsory purchase powers over estates.
Burnham also discussed improved benefits and subsequently his desire to expand the emerging Live Well service, a community-led enrichment program.
Eventually, he hopes that Live Well can eventually replace the city’s job centres and provide better opportunities for people within their communities.
Finally, the much touted Manchester baccalaureate (MBacc) will be introduced in September, providing an alternative to university education and improving transferable skills across Greater Manchester.
Andy Burnham was first elected as Greater Manchester’s Mayor in 2017 and has made sweeping changes to the city, most famously the introduction of a TfL style Bee Network, which aims to combine all parts of the transport network across all the region’s councils.
As for further transport policy, Burnham wants to introduce a ‘hopper bus fare’, where individuals can travel on as many buses as they need within an hour for a £2 ticket and additional concessionary prices.
Further development to the Bee Network has been pledged, with plans to integrate 8 commuter rail lines into the network by the end of this next term.
The Greater Manchester Mayor will be elected on May 2.
Featured image credit: YouTube/The Guardian
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