Much of Andy Burnham’s campaign to win the Makerfield by-election has focused on his record as Mayor of Greater Manchester.
Burnham frequently points to a decade of economic growth above the national average in the region and achievements in areas such as public transport and education.
But with Reform breathing down his neck, there are some weaknesses in Burnham’s record he would rather avoid talking about and one in particular that could yet come back to haunt him, insiders say.
Authorities in Greater Manchester spent more than £100m on a Clean Air Zone (CAZ), which would have charged drivers of polluting vehicles up to £60 a day but was ultimately scrapped after Burnham faced a public backlash.
Burnham has previously denied the the money was wasted and said some of funding was used to invest in electric buses and vehicle upgrades. However, hundreds of cameras and thousands of signs were erected across the region to prepare for a charging zone.
Those who worked with Burnham on the CAZ told The i Paper it was his “biggest mistake” as mayor and there is still a strong sense of resentment and mistrust among both residents and business owners over how it was handled.
“I said to him, ‘these are your voters, these are business owners, these are grafters’. It just fell on deaf ears,” said one source from the business community.
‘He made a massive error of judgement’
Focus groups carried out by More In Common and shared with The i Paper suggests that while Burnham’s record as mayor is generally respected, the abandoned CAZ is viewed as the biggest black mark against him.
“Two words: congestion charge,” said one voter called Anne when asked about Burnham.
“I think he made a massive error of judgement with the clean air zone,” said Val.
Voter Diane said: “There really isn’t a lot of love for him around here because of the clean air issue.
“A lot of people felt let down, especially those with small businesses who would’ve had to upgrade their vehicles. We just feel like he’s let us down.”
And another voter called Brian added: “Well, he wasted a fortune didn’t he, putting his cameras up for the ULEZ [Ultra Low Emissions Zone].
“I mean, it run into thousands and hundreds of thousands of pounds. Just a complete waste of taxpayer’s money… And that was for Burnham’s vanity.”
There are indications team Burnham are worried about the issue.
Earlier this week, the official ‘Andy Burnham for Makerfield’ Facebook account posted a message in local groups which read: “There will be no clear air zone in Makerfield – now or in the future.
“Makerfield is clean air compliant, because Andy Burnham secured funding to upgrade taxis and buses.”
Burnham ‘was warned about CAZ but ploughed on regardless’
Not everyone agrees with that version of history.
“I said to him back in 2018 ‘when people realise, it will be a shitstorm’,” said the business community source about Burnham and the CAZ.
“He was saying ‘no, no, there will be mitigations in place, access grants, no one will suffer’.
“That’s where the anger came from – TfGM [Transport for Greater Manchester] weren’t really listening, they were ploughing on regardless.
“He did see sense at the last minute.”
It was only months before the CAZ was due to come into effect in May 2022, when signs started appearing on the region’s roads, that the public backlash suddenly ramped up.
Within a matter of weeks, a Facebook group called ‘RETHINK the Clean Air Zone – Greater Manchester’ had gained more than 90,000 members and there were mass protests.
Burnham then asked the Conservative government for more time and funding to upgrade non-compliant vehicles.
When it became clear additional money would not arrive quickly and thousands of taxi drivers and small businesses would be hit by the £60 a day charge, Burnham pulled the plug.
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority now says it will be able to achieve clean air compliancy without the need for a charging zone.
Some of the cameras are set to be redeployed as assets for Greater Manchester Police but a legacy of distrust around the scheme remains.
And for some, it is not over.
‘The CAZ is not settled – what’s going to happen to us?’
The taxi industry – both hackney carriage and private hire vehicles – is still required to upgrade thousands of vehicles to compliant models by the end of 2026.
Industry insiders say there is still not enough funding for upgrading hackney black cabs, which cost in the region of £90,000 each.
An industry source in Greater Manchester said they feel “betrayed” by Burnham over the situation.
“I’m annoyed at Andy Burnham, I attended a meeting and on face value I found him OK,” the source said.
“This trade has never been listened to. He promised to do this, that and the other and now he wants to leave Greater Manchester, he wants to put in for Number 10, what’s going to happen to us?
“As far as the CAZ is concerned I’m not sure what’s going to happen.”
“I don’t think Andy Burnham realised there would be the backlash that he got. I don’t think he thought that would happen – but it did.”
Local Conservatives are continuing to remind voters of what they called ‘Andy Burnham’s congestion charge’ during the campaign, referencing a similar proposal that was rejected in a referendum in Greater Manchester in 2008.
Former Tory mayoral candidate Laura Evans candidate told The Sunday Telegraph: “I think that will cost him.
“Where he is standing [in Makerfield], that was one of the most virulent areas against the Clean Air Zone, so they are not going to forget that.”
A source in Andy Burnham’s campaign said: “Andy has been clear: there will be no Clean Air Zone in Greater Manchester – not now, not in the future.
“When people raised their concerns, Andy listened, secured more time from Boris Johnson’s government, and used that time to clean up the air through the Bee Network.
“With Andy’s leadership, Greater Manchester is cleaning up its air in the right way, with the next figures expected to show Wigan Borough is legally compliant.”
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