A message from Councillor Akhtar Zaman, Leader of Bolton Council

I want to start by offering my personal congratulations to our new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham. Andy is friend to Bolton and a friend to local government in general, and seeing him tackle head on the cost-of-living crisis in just these first few days is a breath of fresh air.

For those calling for an immediate general election, please remember that when Theresa May became PM, she waited 11 months before calling an election. Boris Johnson waited 6 months and Rishi Sunak waited 21 months! Like his predecessors, Andy Burnham recognises the need for political stability and attention being entirely focused on the job in hand. He will call an election when he is ready to and he will win that election.

As the Leader of Bolton Council, I recognise, that a positive relationship with Central Government is so important. Andy has made it clear that one of his over arching policies is to decentralise government in this county and bring more powers and more resources to local level. The closer decisions are to people, the better, and this will mean more powers to Greater Manchester and more powers to Bolton. With new powers, there must be adequate funding, and I will ensure that Boltons voice is heard loud and clear in those discussions.

We in Bolton, of course, know Andy very well, due to his time as the Mayor of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. Over the years, under his leadership, this body has become more and more important to the people of Bolton, governing not only policing and fire and rescue, but also waste disposal, skills, housing, economic growth and public transport, to name but some.

On public transport, we have seen the resounding success of the Bee Network, meaning that passenger numbers continue to rise due to welcome initiatives such as the £2 fare cap and free all-day travel for pensioners and disabled people.

The term Greater Manchester, as a partnership authority that Bolton belongs to, should not be confused with local identity. No one calls themselves Greater Mancunians, and rightly so. We are Lancastrians through and through, so please don’t let the bogus arguments by Reform Bolton saying that Bolton should return to Lancashire, confuse the issue. This argument isn’t even supported by the Reform candidate for Mayor of GM, who “loves Greater Manchester” and has never supported Reform Bolton’s plans to take Bolton out of it.

But imagine a situation whereby Bolton did leave GM, and was instead absorbed by some kind of new super Council running our services from Preston or Blackburn or Burnley? Would losing local powers be in our best interests? Would leaving the Bee Network be in our best interests? Would divorcing ourselves from the economic growth hot spot of the UK help Bolton? I think, we all know the answer is a resounding – no.

This is why it is so important to vote for Bev Craig on July 30th as the best successor to Andy. Bev has the experience and know how to continue the great work he has started, and she has already announced new powers and cash for Bolton to tackle town centre and high street eyesores. Unfortunately, at a meeting of Bolton Council on the 22nd July, both Reform and the Tories voted against a motion that welcomed these new powers and resources. It is baffling to understand why they did this.

It has certainly been a summer of events! England getting to the World Cup semi-finals again! Wonderful weather to enjoy, and a breath of fresh air in our new Government! Whatever your political views and voting intention, I am sure we all wish Andy the best of success in his mission to renew our country.

Cllr Akhtar Zaman, Leader of Bolton Council.