By Lillian Race

Copyright manchestereveningnews

Jack Haughton doesn’t look like a man about to change his lifelong political habits. Since the 1980s, he has always marked his ballot for the Conservatives . Yet on a bright Thursday afternoon in Chadderton , he says one man would change that. “If Andy Burnham ran, I’d vote Labour . “He’s a normal, down-to-earth guy who speaks for the people of Greater Manchester. He’s the right man for the job.” Jack’s comments come amid growing speculation that the Greater Manchester mayor could be preparing a return to Westminster, having left Parliament in 2017 two years after his second defeat for the Labour leadership. In a number of media interviews this week, Burnham claimed Labour MPs have urged him to challenge Sir Keir Starmer, and accused No 10 of creating “alienation and demoralisation” within the party. The former Shadow Home Secretary has openly set out a radical plan for Britain that includes public control of housing, energy, water and rail, and to “get back to speaking to working-class ambition”. “Politics BAU – business as usual – Westminster politics, ain’t gonna do it,” Burnham told the New Statesman. Burnham insists he isn’t plotting to unseat Keir Starmer, but hasn’t ruled out a future leadership bid. With Labour bruised by the recent resignation of Angela Rayner and the sacking of Peter Mandelson, and its popularity in the polls struggling against Reform UK, it feels apt that the question of how real Burnham’s ambition is has resurfaced. To test that, we went to Chadderton in Oldham to ask whether locals see him as someone they could trust to lead. Roy Marshall, 58, was perched on a wall chatting with a local when I approach. A former sheet metal worker whose parents came over with the Windrush generation, Roy’s verdict is blunt. “I don’t think he’s qualified for that position,” he says. “He’s a mayor, not a prime minister.” Over the past seven years, Burnham has helped turn Greater Manchester into a model for devolved power. But of all his priorities, Burnham has built his mayoralty around public transport. He pushed through bus franchising in Greater Manchester, expanding services and bringing routes back under local control as part of the Bee Network – the first time anywhere outside London that buses have been fully re-regulated after nearly 40 years. For Roy, however, the system still falls short after recent industrial action has affected services. “Last week, I saw people waiting at bus stops not even knowing the buses were on strike. A taxi driver had to pull up and tell them. That’s not good enough.” Unite the Union members employed by Stagecoach, Metroline, and First – key operators in the Bee Network – are set to strike for three days from September 30 to October 2, with a further six days of action planned for October. In a recent statement, the Mayor insisted ‘everything possible and reasonable has been done to try to avert these strikes’ and urged union bosses to ‘work with us’. Asked if Burnham would be an improvement on Starmer, Roy shrugs. “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.” A few doors down, Amin Babor Chowdhury, who runs Oldham Superstore on Middleton Road, is eager to talk. For Amin, the recent resignation of Angela Rayner has left a hole in Westminster. “It was a great loss for the North West, and for the working class,” he says. “Burnham could fill that space. He is a northern man who understands northern people – Westminster needs that.” His assessment on Starmer is far less generous. “We were anticipating that Starmer could be a strong voice for the voiceless. “With his legal background we expected him to fight for justice, inequality and poverty. Instead, I’ve found him weak and incompetent.” Back on Burnham, Amin points to initiatives he says are already making a difference for local businesses. He credits the Business Growth Hub, which works across Greater Manchester’s ten boroughs, including Oldham. But it is transport where he sees the biggest impact. “Look at the Bee Network. The £2 bus fares bringing more people into town, which is more money for local businesses and more money into the economy. It’s working. He listens to the community.” Nicky, 35, a newcomer from Montreal, pauses with her shopping bags when I stop her on the high street. She’s only lived in the area a few months. When asked about Burnham, transport is the first thing that comes to her mind. “The transport infrastructure here is amazing – one of the best in the world,” she says. “And I’ve lived all over.” Not everyone is so sure. Joy Darlington, 74, has lived in Chadderton all her life and watched it change from a well-off, middle-class town to one she barely recognises. “I don’t trust any politician – that includes Andy Burnham, to a certain extent,” she tells me. “He has good ideas, but Chadderton still needs improvement.” Joy did back his call for public ownership of energy: “Elderly people deserve to be kept warm. “I’m lucky, but there are hundreds of thousands who can’t afford to turn the heating on. “Taking away the winter fuel payment put me right off Starmer.” James Hester, 70, echoes some of that frustration. A retired Chadderton resident, he still votes Labour but feels increasingly alienated. “We need someone who brings people together, not drives them away. Starmer seems to be dividing his own party.” Burnham – or Andy, as James calls him – offers some hope. I discover he first came across him years ago through his brother, who he said used to “knock about” with his sister. The connection has stuck. “He’s never changed,” James says. “He’ll still stop and talk to you in the street and take the time to listen.” Would he back Burnham for leader? “I would, because we can’t do any worse.”