Steve Rotheram’s friends in high places

Back in 2023, I was sitting in a cafe with Steve Rotheram as he cringed with embarrassment at himself for discussing his friendship with comedian Lee Evans. “It’s not great is it,” he said. “Friends with the stars.” He qualified that most of his other pals were ordinary. The best man at his wedding? An HGV driver.

His best mate, though, is about to be the prime minister. 

About a year later, I reviewed in these pages a book written by Rotheram and Andy Burnham, called Head North, which essentially traces the roots of what could be called the pair’s political philosophy. Having read every page of Head North puts me, I suspect, in a unique position. 

I wasn’t nice about the book. This is because it is bad, but also because neither Rotheram or his “bezzie mate” Andy B fully wrote it. It was instead crafted by the hand of Liam Thorp who, as political editor of the Echo, is the salaried scrutinizer of the two men — a remarkable abandonment of journalistic principle. 

But today isn’t about Thorp. Today is about Burnham. Or rather about what Burnham could mean for Liverpool.

Another issue I had of Head North was its deeply strained attempts at myth-making. Imagine the Keir Starmer line about his toolmaker dad, a sentiment annoying enough in a single soundbite, stretched out across 200 pages. I was wary of how Burnham, in particular, is presented as a political outsider, with the book too merrily accepting the narrative he wants to push, as opposed to the reality: that Burnham was only heading north on the back of two failed attempts to become the leader of the Labour party. 

After publication, Burnham’s top aide Kevin Lee pinged me a stern text on Andy’s behalf. He was upset at my insinuation that Burnham was vehemently anti-London, rather (he said) Burnham was vehemently anti the London political scene because he’d seen it up close. And in this we alight upon the strength of Burnham’s pitch. He’s done Westminster, so he knows where it works, and — crucially — where it fails. But he also spent his time in the wilderness and came upon a new kind of politics, which is (among other things) a politics in which regions outside of London are handed increased powers to determine their own futures. And that could have big effects for Liverpool.