FOI disclosures reveal that Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham directed £33,000 to Manchester Pride's Superbia programme, £2,575 to Stonewall, and £900 for parade entry, drawing criticism over value for money and political impartiality as he seeks a parliamentary seat.
Andy Burnham , the Labour Mayor of Manchester, directed over £33,000 in public funds to support Pride events and festivals last year, according to information obtained through Freedom of Information requests.
The largest sum, a £33,000 grant, was provided to Manchester Pride Ltd to underwrite the year-round cultural programme known as Superbia. This initiative explicitly prioritizes projects created by and for specific demographic groups, including Queer, Trans and Intersex People of Colour and wider trans communities, offering micro-grants of up to £1,000 to artists.
Additionally, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, which Burnham leads, paid £2,575 to the charity Stonewall for participation in its Proud Employer Membership scheme. This membership provides access to consultancy, training materials, and networking to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion in the workplace. This expenditure is notable because more than 100 public sector bodies, including every major UK government department, have withdrawn from Stonewall programmes following government concerns about political impartiality and value for money.
A further £900 of taxpayer money was spent on entry fees for the annual Pride Parade carnival that marches through Manchester's city centre. These financial disclosures arrive as Burnham pursues a parliamentary candidacy in the Makerfield by-election, a move widely seen as a preliminary step toward a future leadership challenge against Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Critics argue that this spending represents a misuse of public resources for activist causes and identity politics at the expense of core services.
William Yarwood of the TaxPayers' Alliance stated that taxpayers would be furious to see their money funneled into niche political causes rather than tackling crime or improving local services. He contended that politicians should focus on delivering frontline services and avoid treating taxpayers as a limitless source for virtue-signalling. The spending also ties into broader controversy over Burnham's stance on gender identity and single-sex spaces.
A leaked recording from 2022 revealed Burnham stating that the view that biological sex should determine access to single-sex toilets is a minority position and that women's safety is not necessarily at risk from the presence of biological males. He criticised what he called 'supposed feminists' for engaging in culture wars and had previously criticised interim guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which followed a Supreme Court ruling affirming that single-sex spaces should be reserved for people of the corresponding biological sex.
A spokesperson for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority defended the spending, stating that the region has a long and proud history of championing equality and diversity and that this culture is a key reason people want to live, work, visit, and invest there. The combined expenditures total more than £36,475.
This revelation is likely to become a point of scrutiny on the campaign trail in Makerfield, where voters may perceive the spending as a waste of public funds while Burnham aims to reposition himself nationally
Andy Burnham Manchester Pride Stonewall Taxpayer Spending Superbia Gender Identity Single-Sex Spaces Makerfield By-Election Keir Starmer Taxpayers' Alliance
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