Mayoral job above party politics, says Anstee

The colour of his politics may make Sean Anstee, the Conservative candidate to be the first Greater Manchester metro mayor, the apparent underdog but adamant he can do more than just make up the numbers, he is urging the public to think beyond traditional party allegiances when it comes to casting their vote in May.

Aged 29, the leader of Trafford Council is the youngest ever council leader and the only Conservative council leader out of the 10 that make up the Combined Greater Manchester Authority.

He says that winning the public vote should not come down to party politics but be about who can best do the new job and lead Greater Manchester.

Speaking on stage with Joanne Birtwistle, editor of TheBusinessDesk at an event organised by business membership organisation TheProfileClub, he said: “Greater Manchester has never worked like that. We have not got some of the things that we have today by just arguing with government of whatever colour. We have got it by working collaboratively with a determined nature.”

He went on: “We wouldn’t be having this decision if I hadn’t been part of those negotiations to get the devolution that Manchester has in the first place… I live and breathe this city…. It is about making my home and all of our homes a better place to live and work in.”

But he couldn’t resist the odd quip at the expense of his Labour rival and frontrunner Andy Burnham, referencing his previous failed bid to become leader of the Labour party.

“If anybody can lose an election from being odds on favourite it is Andy Burnham. We have seen from some of the things he’s gone for previously that he’s not been able to do it,” he said.

Anstee later went on: “I give a straight answer to a straight question. I try to be very consistent in my views and what I’m saying. I think Andy is quite a nice guy but getting him to a fixed position is quite difficult.

“Saying different things to different people is not helpful. We need to be able to talk about some of the issues that this position is just not about shouting from the side lines or standing up to government.”

Anstee’s mayoral manifesto will be published at the end of February but he gave the audience a flavour of what to expect and made his top priorities clear – building on Manchester’s burgeoning reputation as an outward looking international city; improving the productivity of Greater Manchester and unashamedly looking to increase wealth across the board; and making sure that everyone feels they are part of Greater Manchester’s growth.

He said: “It would be too easy to say ‘here are my policies on health, ‘here are my policies on skills’ – that would be boring.

“We need to try and shape the conversation to say if we are a global city you have people invested in creating jobs here in Greater Manchester. In order for that to happen you need to have the people with the skills to get those jobs, to get a job you need the transport to get there in the first place, once you are in work you need to be able to progress and when you are coming home you need a home that’s great for you to live with your family.

“I want us to articulate how we are going to create that environment for everyone that lives and works in Greater Manchester because I think that will be more meaningful than setting out a raft of individual things.”

Housing and skills will continue to feature high up on Anstee’s agenda – he already holds responsibility for the skills and housing agenda across the Greater Manchester Combined Authority – as will health and transport.

“One of key pledges we want to make is around a single transport fund that will bring together all the different money that’s available from Department for Transport, Highways England local councils and wherever else.

“If you want to be able to make the city easier to get around so that it is not so congested, air quality is better and public transport is working as it needs to, then we need to have choices over where we put that money,” he said.

As the Conservative candidate Anstee is up against Labour’s Andy Burnham, Jane Brophy of the Liberal Democrats, UKIP’s Shneur Odze and a yet to be announced Green Party candidate.

The breakfast event, held on Friday at the Manchester airport Marriott Hotel and sponsored by financial planning and wealth strategy firm Foresight, was organised by business membership organisation TheProfileClub .

Pictured left to right: Simon Booth of event sponsor Foresight, Sean Anstee, Joanne Birtwistle and Barbara Hallwood of TheProfileClub