'I'll be as much for the East as the North-West' - Burnham

Andy Burnham has said he is committed to improving communities in the East of England, saying there are places which have as much need of help as those in other parts of the country.

Speaking to the BBC during his first visit to the region, he said it would not be forgotten when it came to allocating government spending, and also spoke about the importance of community and the necessity to reorganise local government.

He also said it was time to sort out the much delayed plans for a new hospital for Harlow in Essex, and told how his time at university had given him a special attachment to the region.

He was visiting Harlow on Thursday to promote his plans to cut business rates for pubs - one of a number of announcements this week to tackle the cost of living. But what else did we learn about what an Andy Burnham premiership will mean for the area?

The prime minister answered concerns quietly expressed by some local politicians and business leaders that the region could lose out on government funding, because a northern MP is now in charge.

Speaking of his time as Manchester mayor, Burnham said: "It was my job to be a strong voice for Greater Manchester and the wider North, but when I go around the country I see the same as I see in the North-West.

"There are communities here, in places like Harlow, that feel that little bit forgotten, because they're on the fringe of a big city and they're right to feel like that, because sometimes they don't get the investment and the attention that they deserve.

"So I'll be as much for the East as I will be for the North-West."

He said he had promised good growth in every postcode in the country, adding: "I'm here today to show my commitment to communities across the East of England… I'll be a regular visitor."

The prime minister said his business rate cut for pubs and music venues was about helping places that bring people together.

"I'm very conscious that this is part of our heritage and working class culture in our communities, and we should be proudly defending it and supporting it."

He said during his visit to the Hare pub in Harlow he had met members of a mental health group for older women who hold meetings there, along with other local organisations that use the pub.

"It's crucially important to protect these places where people meet," he said.

The Conservatives have questioned how this and other cost of living schemes will be funded and if they can be fully delivered.

Burnham revealed that when health secretary in 2009, he worked on plans for a new hospital for Harlow.

Seventeen years later, there is still uncertainty over when and where it will be built.

"I'm coming back thinking, 'Has that not been fixed yet?' We need a bit of attention there," he said.

Harlow was one of the 40 hospitals that the Boris Johnson government promised to rebuild back in 2020, but the plans have faced repeated delays.

The PM said the local MP, Chris Vince, had already asked for a meeting to discuss the way forward, and "he's absolutely right to put that on my agenda".

The plans to do away with all the present councils in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex and replace them with more powerful unitary authorities have become controversial, with several authorities, including Harlow Council, taking legal action against the government.

Burnham said he would look at the concerns, and recalled "grumbles" in Manchester when 10 councils and a combined authority were joined, which he claimed had largely disappeared.

"There is a good reason behind it," he said

"I understand the concerns about disruption and the cost, but in the end stronger councils deliver better services and that's what this is all about."

The last British prime minister to go to Cambridge University was Stanley Baldwin, who held power on three occasions between 1923 and 1937.

Burnham, who studied English Literature at Fitzwilliam College, said his time there gave him an attachment to the region.

"Hopefully I've struck a blow for Cambridge this week, because Cambridge hasn't had somebody in the top job for some time, so I'm happy to strike a blow for the place that did so much for me."

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