Next week, the UK will have a new prime minister – Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester and the first Catholic to take on this role since emancipation. In this Religion Media Centre briefing, people who know him well described how he embodies Catholic social teaching around the common good, challenging poverty and helping the homeless. Faith leaders from the city said he was a ‘convener of the people’, seeing faith communities as key partners in bringing people together to build society.
He has forged links with faith communities in Manchester, including a joint visit to Rome to meet Pope Francis, finding common ground on issues such as climate change. Considering whether this interfaith solidarity could be replicated in Downing Street, there were hopes that he was arriving at just the right time, as consultation is underway for RE to be part of the national curriculum, and for a working group to be set up to discuss religious literacy across government departments.
On moral issues, where Catholic social teaching takes politicians into different positions, he has in the past expressed his conflict with the church over issues of sexuality and recently made clear that he is unlikely to support the assisted dying bill in its current form, saying the focus should be on improving palliative and end-of-life care. Andy Burnham has made hope a key theme in his vision for the future, and the people of Manchester in this briefing are placing their hope in him.
Rosie Dawson hosted this discussion with speakers including: Prof Francis Davis, Catherine Pepinster, Bishop David Walker, Mike Kane MP, Rev Ian Rutherford, Rabnawaz Akbar, Nidha Sinha, Sukbir Singh, Rabbi Warren Elf, Joanne Feldman and Farrah Akhtar.
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