Andy Burnham, the Labour candidate for London mayor, is criticised by James Cleverly, who is making a pitch for the Conservative mayoral race. Cleverly says Burnham has effectively “declared war on London,” framing the contest as part of a broader dispute over how power is shared across England.
Cleverly argues that Prime Minister’s devolution plans involve centralising power around Manchester, and he presents this as occurring at the expense of London. The criticism is directed at Burnham, described as aligned with or supportive of those devolution priorities. In this framing, London is positioned as losing influence in favour of Greater Manchester.
The Daily Mail reports the remarks as part of Cleverly’s campaigning message and highlights the “centralising power” allegation. Other reported elements are not provided in the supplied materials, so the differing angles between outlets cannot be assessed beyond this single account.
