Sir Richard Leese Stepping Down

So, the day has come. After years of will he/won’t he, Greater Manchester’s political giant Sir Richard Leese has announced he will be standing down as Leader of Manchester City Council on 1st December after 25 years. Much will be written about his legacy in the coming days, but it is no understatement to say that he has impacted the lives of every person who has lived or worked in the city for a quarter of a century. We know there are a lot of questions being asked, so here we try to answer some. 

As most people are asking, what happens next?  

An election will be held amongst the 94 Labour Councillors in Manchester to decide who will take on the role in the coming weeks. This isn’t a vote by the residents of Manchester or the members of the Labour Party in the city. We’re waiting on when this will take place but Lexington understands that the timetable will be shared with Labour Councillors today after being decided last night. 

Who is going to be the new Leader? 

We don’t know yet, but there will certainly be a contest for the role amongst the Labour Group. It will take time before any formally declare their intentions, but we can expect that at least one of the existing two Deputy Leaders will stand. Councillors Bev Craig and Luthfur Rahman, both well respected and would be seen as continuity candidates. Others who have always held ambitions for higher office within the Council may see this as an opportunity and put their name forward. One suggested to Lexington was Councillor Sam Wheeler who has previously stood for the role of Deputy Leader unsuccessfully. However, the ‘far left’ of the Labour Group who are supported by the weakened membership organisation Momentum will certainly look to capitalise on his departure to try to take control of the Council. At May’s Labour Group AGM, when Sir Richard was re-elected as the Leader, he was opposed by newly elected Councillor Ekua Bayunu. Although heavily defeated, the newer more Momentum leaning Councillors will certainly look to have a candidate to put forward. The Group is also split geographically, with the Withington and South Manchester wards often backing their own internal slate and more central and Northern wards opting for their own candidate. Lexington expects names such as Councillor John Flanagan, Councillor Luke Raikes and Councillor Suzanne Richards to be mentioned in this vein. 

What does this mean for Andy Burnham?  

It has been no secret that there has always been tensions between Sir Richard and Andy as Mayor of Greater Manchester. The authority and gravitas Sir Richard commanded allowed him the freedom to be bullish with the Mayor, particularly in his first term, so his departure will be an opportunity for the recently re-elected Mayor to impose himself further over Greater Manchester politics. 

With Sir Richard no longer in situ to tighten the reins of the Mayor, we can expect to see him growing more interventionalist across the city region and looking to build on his already substantial position to support his personal long-term ambitions.  

What will Sir Richard do next? 

Lexington understands that although he is standing down from the City Council, he won’t be disappearing entirely from Greater Manchester or politics. He’s already said he intends to continue to be an active member of the Labour Party and we understand that he is keen to continue to participate with the Greater Manchester’s plans for health. He is already the Combined Authorities’ lead on Health and, like the late Lord Peter Smith before him, he may want to help drive the complex landscape of health in the city region forward.  

How will his departure impact on Manchester? 

A lot depends on who comes next. There is no better analogy of the situation than when Sir Alex Ferguson left Manchester United. Like then, Sir Richard Leese will likely use his soft power amongst the Labour Group of councillors to highlight who his preferred successor will be. Although he certainly wouldn’t be telling members who they should be voting for. And whoever takes up the role will have considerable shoes to fill. Will they look to continue the widely respected pragmatism of Sir Richard’s leadership that has driven considerable economic growth in the city, or will they want to forge their own path and look to break away from how things have been done in the past, particularly on investment and housing? We will have to wait and see!