Dear Andy…. An Open Letter to Andy Burnham MP
Dear Andy,
Congratulations on your by-election victory.
Your return to Westminster comes at an important moment. Nearly two years into a Labour government elected on a promise of change, there is now an opportunity to bring fresh thinking to some of the biggest challenges facing our country.
Moments like this do not come around often. They invite us to look again at what matters, at what kind of country we want to be, and at how we create opportunities for people in every part of it.
You and I worked together once, many years ago, at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. I was a junior civil servant. You were a newly appointed special adviser. Together, we were dreaming up plans for the future of sport in the UK.
Since then, your journey has taken you from Westminster to Greater Manchester and back again.
What has stood out throughout is your belief in place. In the idea that where people come from matters. That communities matter. That pride in local identity is not something to be overcome but something to be built upon.
That belief has shaped your work as Mayor. It is one reason why so many people connect with the idea of “Manchesterism”. It speaks to something universal: that people want to feel rooted, valued and invested in the place they call home.
Every town, city and village in Britain deserves that same confidence.
At Historic Houses, the organisation I now lead, we see that every day.
Across the country, from family-owned houses and gardens to castles and palaces, we work with more than 1,400 places that sit at the heart of their local communities.
Together these places employ around 12,000 people. They welcome visitors, support local businesses, create opportunities for young people and help sustain the character of the places around them.
I am constantly struck by the enterprise of the people who run these amazing places. Their resilience. Their willingness to adapt. Their determination to preserve something important while constantly finding new ways to make it relevant for future generations.
These places are not relics of the past. They are active contributors to the future of our communities.
That is why many in our sector have found recent years challenging. A government committed to growth is right to focus on creating opportunity.
Yet many tourism, hospitality and heritage businesses feel that rising employment costs and other pressures are making it harder to invest, recruit and expand.
For young people looking for a first step into work, that matters too. Some of the most valuable opportunities are created by the very businesses now facing the greatest strain.
That is why your proposal to reduce VAT for hospitality is so encouraging. It recognises the contribution these sectors make, not only to our economy but to our social fabric.
The same is true of measures that help pubs and other community businesses remain viable.
Because growth is not just about numbers. It is about confidence. It is about giving people reasons to invest in their future and in the places they love.
As you return to Westminster, we hope you will bring with you the same commitment to place that defined your time in Greater Manchester.
A well-cared-for historic environment does more than preserve the past. It deepens people’s connection to where they live. It strengthens local pride. It helps tell the story of who we are.
The way a country treats its heritage says something about how it sees itself. It reflects whether we are confident enough to value what we have inherited while building what comes next.
Places like Markenfield Hall in North Yorkshire embody that idea. Family-owned, deeply rooted in its community, and open to visitors from near and far, Markenfield contributes to local jobs, local pride and local identity. There are hundreds of places like it across the country.
So alongside your “Makerfield test” for national policy, we ask that you consider a “Markenfield test” too: a simple question about whether decisions taken in Westminster strengthen or weaken the heritage places that give communities their character and sense of belonging.
If we can do that, we will not only protect our heritage. We will strengthen the connection people feel to the places they call home.
And that is something every one of us can be proud of.
Yours,
Ben