The much-vaunted “Manchesterism” of our new Prime Minister is starting to take its national shape, with his early policy pledges and the appointment of his Cabinet. It’s a relentless focus on the cost of living – cuts to VAT on energy bills and a £2 cap on bus fares – paired with a jaunty wardrobe and a flair for social media. Burnham wants the public to see him as somehow more ‘real’ and more ‘in touch’ than his aloof predecessor.

But Burnham’s diagnosis of the ills of the nation – and the action needed to address them – amounts to a great deal more than just improving how the government communicates. His early statements include some fairly significant repudiations of not just the outgoing Starmer administration, but a great many of its predecessors. He specifically talks about the “wrong turn” of the 1980s.

His statements point to a very particular view of history – that the deindustrialisation of the 1980s, together with the centralisation of political power, undermined working class communities to such an extent that they have not recovered. The Burnham protocol references ‘reindustrialisation’ and ‘devolution’ as the answer for these communities. It’s a strikingly retrogressive view. Our pop culture Prime Minister would probably enjoy a Doctor Who comparison – he’s a Time Lord, travelling back to the 1980s to right a historic wrong and save the country from the Evil Neoliberals! – but being compared to a sci-fi fantasy isn’t perhaps as complimentary about Burnham as he would like.

But it is also a statement about geography. The implication is that the Cities of London and Westminster have jointly wreaked this damage on the rest of the country – specifically northern cities and towns – and that it is time for a reversal. I’m not the only Londoner who worries about what the Burnham view of the British economy and society mean for our city.

I know that many LDV readers will struggle to find much sympathy for privileged metropolitan snowflakes, weepingly forgoing their matcha lattes and gochujang popcorn to help fund a £2 bus fare cap that Londoners won’t even benefit from (because our bus fares are already only £1.75!). Many will share the Burnham diagnosis of the impact of Thatcherism on the UK’s social fabric and every good Liberal Democrat will welcome the warm words about devolution. As the party’s Business spokesperson, I’m enthusiastic about the prospect of growing our manufacturing base, especially for the career opportunities it would offer to our young people. Although we also need to see much more support for small and high street businesses, with policies that will boost employment, such as reversing the Employers’ NI increases, introduced by the now ex-Chancellor, Rachel Reeves.

The implicit and explicit hostility towards our capital city, however, does not inspire confidence. We wait to hear what the new top team have in store in their first budget, but loading more taxes onto higher earners, without wider reforms of the tax system, or a recognition of how those higher earnings get swallowed up by higher housing costs in the capital, will lead to a disproportionate tax burden on Londoners.

And priorities that skew towards the North will overlook the fact that rates of homelessness and child poverty are higher in the capital than in any other part of the country. If Andy Burnham is serious about ending rough sleeping, then he needs to start with those who find themselves on the streets of London – between a quarter and a third of all of the UK’s rough sleepers. Homelessness is a complex issue with many causes, but lack of affordable housing – an issue that is far greater in London than anywhere else – is one of the most significant. And more than half of all children living in temporary accommodation in the UK live in London. Inequality hits harder in London than anywhere else in the country. If Burnham wants to deliver real change to this country – that voters can really see and feel – then addressing the problems of the capital can make the greatest, fastest and most visible change.

For all of that, London is unique in the range of talent it attracts, in the breadth of economic sectors it supports and in the diversity of employment it offers. It is unrivalled in Europe for the opportunities it offers to entrepreneurs to find investment in their startups and for the number of world-class universities at which students can advance their learning. All these factors – and more – are the reason why London’s productivity per head is 75% greater than the UK average.

It’s a hackneyed argument that London needs investment because its economy generates the tax revenues that fund the rest of the country. We need policies that will help every region of the UK grow, not pit one part of the country against another. Boosting regional productivity will be harder if London’s economy is hit by a misplaced sense that it needs to ‘pay’ for past failures of policymaking. If London’s ability to spend and invest is weakened, it will reduce the economic output of every region.

Andy Burnham has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the lives of Londoners. He has the opportunity to grow the sectors which set the city apart, to strengthen its position on the world stage. He has a choice: to seize this opportunity or to further ignite division within the country by demonising the city and not helping those in the capital who need it the most.

* Sarah Olney is the MP for Richmond Park. She joined the Liberal Democrats in 2015 and won a spectacular victory in the Richmond Park by-election in December 2016. She lost the seat by a heartbreaking 45 votes in the 2017 General Election, but then regained it resoundingly at the 2019 General Election.