What impact will Andy Burnham’s policies have on students, including those from marginalised communities?
On the question of who Andy Burnham is, the words “matey and approachable” spring to mind. When he left Westminster in 2017 to become Mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham effectively rebranded himself as a relatable outsider politician on the side of working people.
With regard to Andy Burnham’s policies towards university students, including those from marginalised communities, there have been no major policy announcements specifically targeted towards them so far. The current brand of politics offered by Burnham is often described by media outlets as “Manchesterism“. This involves more devolution towards local communities combined with greater involvement by state authorities in public services and collaboration with local businesses.
For young people as a whole, Andy Burnham’s domestic priorities show signs of promise but only in England so far. This includes investing in technical and vocational learning for secondary school pupils and a bursary of around £4,500 for families that could potentially struggle financially when their children pursue an apprenticeship. In addition, No. 10 has pledged coordination between educational institutions, strategic authorities, local councils, and employers in local areas to direct young people towards the best opportunities through work placements and training. Burnham effectively wants to place technical education on the same level as university degrees and ensure young people have a wider selection of choices after secondary school. Furthermore, he announced changes to Ofsted’s process of ranking schools by also observing the quality of a school’s technical education.
At the same time, there is already apprehension by many progressives inside and outside the Labour Party over Burnham’s support for Shabana Mahmoud’s Immigration and Asylum Bill which includes longer waiting periods for residency permits and £10,000 accommodation fees for asylum-seeking applicants. It also streamlines and speeds up deportation notices for asylum seekers. This goes against his previous liberal attitudes towards immigration such as his opposition to the NRPF’s strict measures towards foreign nationals. Furthermore, the Burnham government’s pursuit of lower net migration and greater controls may have a further impact on international students including their access to graduate career schemes.
Despite this, Burnham is also displaying a lenient attitude towards EU students by floating the idea to reduce tuition fees for them. Moreover, in the interests of fairness he has advocated for middle and upper class localities to share the burden of housing asylum seekers instead of allowing working class communities to take the brunt. In addition, the administration so far is merely complying with current immigration laws and has avoided further restrictions on student visas. Furthermore, Burnham wishes to produce more legal and safer routes for refugees to discourage them from pursuing dangerous crossings. Ultimately, Burnham’s approach towards immigration is seeking a balance between legal settlement and integration that may not satisfy everyone whether they are left-wing or right-wing.
Regarding LGBTQ+ rights, Wareham states that the Burnham administration currently appears to be more focused on the cost of living crisis and it is still too early to see how it will deal with LGBTQ+ issues policy-wise, although the scrapping of Digital IDs signifies a positive step for trans people. Despite his Catholic upbringing, Burnham has shown himself to be an ally and even went so far as to call on Pope Francis and the Catholic Church to support same-sex marriage back in 2015. Other examples include campaigning against Section 28 as a student and voting for the 2004 Civil Partnership Act, the 2013 Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act, and the 2019 Gender Recognition Act whilst MP for Leigh. As Greater Manchester Mayor, he appointed Carl Austin-Behan as an LGBTQ+ adviser in 2018 and set up an LGBTQ+ Equality Panel for the region. In 2025, he apologised for historic injustices committed by Greater Manchester Police. Moreover, in 2022 he publicly expressed support for trans women using single sex spaces, and expressed support for trans rights at Manchester’s 2025 Pride. Yet at the same time there is cause for concern over his 2020 meeting with members of the LGB Alliance, although Burnham’s office at the time clarified his commitment to trans rights. Then there is his acceptance of the Supreme Court’s ruling and the subsequent EHRC guidance on biological sex and single sex spaces. Overall, Burnham himself stated that although he legally supports the ruling’s findings, he also emphasised the need to ensure trans people were protected.
When it comes to women, Burnham’s decisions so far indicate positive steps with over half of his cabinet being made up of female ministers for the first time in British political history – slightly more than Starmer’s cabinets. In an effort to move away from the “‘boys’ club’” culture of Starmer’s administration that drew criticism from senior female Labour MPs, Burnham has pledged to end the use of negative briefing against female ministers and would sack any staff member caught doing so. Outside of government, there are concerns over Burnham’s U-turning on paying compensation towards WASPI women. Besides that, Burnham intends to increase employment diversity across the UK by setting up a taskforce that will provide funding to businesses that hire and reward young ethnic minority people. As Greater Manchester Mayor meanwhile, Burnham set up a local race equality panel and collaborated with Operation Black Vote on job mentoring. With regards to policy towards people with disabilities, Burnham has introduced 24/7 free bus passes for disabled people in England.
Whether Burnham will be able to deliver on his promises remains to be seen, as he will still have to deal with many of the economic issues that hindered Starmer, like low growth, high costs of borrowing, growing national debt etc. Moreover, Burnham is likely to come under pressure from other challenges, such as the autumn budget and its fiscal rules, welfare spending, migration, and prisoner releases. In effect, we are still in the early stages of Burnham’s government and there have been no policy announcements involving university students, so it is difficult to estimate what impact his policies will have on the student body at the University of Glasgow. However, some of the policies and decisions made by him so far indicate how his administration will treat marginal groups that comprise student bodies across the UK and in Glasgow. On the one hand, his support for draconian immigration measures and acceptance of the Supreme Court’s ruling on single-sex spaces will be a blow to international students and trans people respectively, hoping that he would change course after Starmer. On the other hand, Burnham’s desire to support EU students and provide legal pathways for migrants and refugees, as well as his commitment to protect trans people, indicate silver linings in the new Prime Minister’s strategy. Plus, his previous decisions regarding English school students, the LGBTQ+ community, women, ethnic minorities, and disabled people, coupled with his commitment to easing the cost of living, suggest that Burnham will do a lot more to improve the lives of students and young people as a whole.
Who Is Andy Burnham And How Will His Policies Affect You?
What impact will Andy Burnham’s policies have on students, including those from marginalised communities?
On the question of who Andy Burnham is, the words “matey and approachable” spring to mind. When he left Westminster in 2017 to become Mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham effectively rebranded himself as a relatable outsider politician on the side of working people.
With regard to Andy Burnham’s policies towards university students, including those from marginalised communities, there have been no major policy announcements specifically targeted towards them so far. The current brand of politics offered by Burnham is often described by media outlets as “Manchesterism“. This involves more devolution towards local communities combined with greater involvement by state authorities in public services and collaboration with local businesses.
For young people as a whole, Andy Burnham’s domestic priorities show signs of promise but only in England so far. This includes investing in technical and vocational learning for secondary school pupils and a bursary of around £4,500 for families that could potentially struggle financially when their children pursue an apprenticeship. In addition, No. 10 has pledged coordination between educational institutions, strategic authorities, local councils, and employers in local areas to direct young people towards the best opportunities through work placements and training. Burnham effectively wants to place technical education on the same level as university degrees and ensure young people have a wider selection of choices after secondary school. Furthermore, he announced changes to Ofsted’s process of ranking schools by also observing the quality of a school’s technical education.
At the same time, there is already apprehension by many progressives inside and outside the Labour Party over Burnham’s support for Shabana Mahmoud’s Immigration and Asylum Bill which includes longer waiting periods for residency permits and £10,000 accommodation fees for asylum-seeking applicants. It also streamlines and speeds up deportation notices for asylum seekers. This goes against his previous liberal attitudes towards immigration such as his opposition to the NRPF’s strict measures towards foreign nationals. Furthermore, the Burnham government’s pursuit of lower net migration and greater controls may have a further impact on international students including their access to graduate career schemes.
Despite this, Burnham is also displaying a lenient attitude towards EU students by floating the idea to reduce tuition fees for them. Moreover, in the interests of fairness he has advocated for middle and upper class localities to share the burden of housing asylum seekers instead of allowing working class communities to take the brunt. In addition, the administration so far is merely complying with current immigration laws and has avoided further restrictions on student visas. Furthermore, Burnham wishes to produce more legal and safer routes for refugees to discourage them from pursuing dangerous crossings. Ultimately, Burnham’s approach towards immigration is seeking a balance between legal settlement and integration that may not satisfy everyone whether they are left-wing or right-wing.
Regarding LGBTQ+ rights, Wareham states that the Burnham administration currently appears to be more focused on the cost of living crisis and it is still too early to see how it will deal with LGBTQ+ issues policy-wise, although the scrapping of Digital IDs signifies a positive step for trans people. Despite his Catholic upbringing, Burnham has shown himself to be an ally and even went so far as to call on Pope Francis and the Catholic Church to support same-sex marriage back in 2015. Other examples include campaigning against Section 28 as a student and voting for the 2004 Civil Partnership Act, the 2013 Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act, and the 2019 Gender Recognition Act whilst MP for Leigh. As Greater Manchester Mayor, he appointed Carl Austin-Behan as an LGBTQ+ adviser in 2018 and set up an LGBTQ+ Equality Panel for the region. In 2025, he apologised for historic injustices committed by Greater Manchester Police. Moreover, in 2022 he publicly expressed support for trans women using single sex spaces, and expressed support for trans rights at Manchester’s 2025 Pride. Yet at the same time there is cause for concern over his 2020 meeting with members of the LGB Alliance, although Burnham’s office at the time clarified his commitment to trans rights. Then there is his acceptance of the Supreme Court’s ruling and the subsequent EHRC guidance on biological sex and single sex spaces. Overall, Burnham himself stated that although he legally supports the ruling’s findings, he also emphasised the need to ensure trans people were protected.
When it comes to women, Burnham’s decisions so far indicate positive steps with over half of his cabinet being made up of female ministers for the first time in British political history – slightly more than Starmer’s cabinets. In an effort to move away from the “‘boys’ club’” culture of Starmer’s administration that drew criticism from senior female Labour MPs, Burnham has pledged to end the use of negative briefing against female ministers and would sack any staff member caught doing so. Outside of government, there are concerns over Burnham’s U-turning on paying compensation towards WASPI women. Besides that, Burnham intends to increase employment diversity across the UK by setting up a taskforce that will provide funding to businesses that hire and reward young ethnic minority people. As Greater Manchester Mayor meanwhile, Burnham set up a local race equality panel and collaborated with Operation Black Vote on job mentoring. With regards to policy towards people with disabilities, Burnham has introduced 24/7 free bus passes for disabled people in England.
Whether Burnham will be able to deliver on his promises remains to be seen, as he will still have to deal with many of the economic issues that hindered Starmer, like low growth, high costs of borrowing, growing national debt etc. Moreover, Burnham is likely to come under pressure from other challenges, such as the autumn budget and its fiscal rules, welfare spending, migration, and prisoner releases. In effect, we are still in the early stages of Burnham’s government and there have been no policy announcements involving university students, so it is difficult to estimate what impact his policies will have on the student body at the University of Glasgow. However, some of the policies and decisions made by him so far indicate how his administration will treat marginal groups that comprise student bodies across the UK and in Glasgow. On the one hand, his support for draconian immigration measures and acceptance of the Supreme Court’s ruling on single-sex spaces will be a blow to international students and trans people respectively, hoping that he would change course after Starmer. On the other hand, Burnham’s desire to support EU students and provide legal pathways for migrants and refugees, as well as his commitment to protect trans people, indicate silver linings in the new Prime Minister’s strategy. Plus, his previous decisions regarding English school students, the LGBTQ+ community, women, ethnic minorities, and disabled people, coupled with his commitment to easing the cost of living, suggest that Burnham will do a lot more to improve the lives of students and young people as a whole.
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