Dear Andy Burnham,
Firstly, I must congratulate you on your new role. I am sorry that I have not written to you sooner and I know that you’ve technically been in post for a while now. In my defence though, you did go away almost immediately after taking office.
The reason that I am writing to you today is to make suggestions for your policy platform. Now, I understand that you’re unlikely to be open to suggestions from a former Tory staffer, but I am also writing on behalf of some people who I know you are a big fan of and hopefully you’ll be inclined to take their advice on board.
Please do not try to be our father, we do not need you or a paternalist state to make our lives better. As Morrissey said, leave me alone
As every man and his dog in Britain must know by now, you are a big fan of Oasis, and anything remotely connected to Manchester. Were you aware though, Andy, of how pro-freedom Oasis are? Firstly, I strongly recommend that you listen to their number three hit from 1994 ‘Whatever’. Once you get past the beautiful string instrumental at the start and really begin to listen to the lyrics, I am sure that you too will find yourself becoming an ardent opponent of the nanny state.
You can tell that this song was not written in the last few years. Not just because it is actually good but because by the second line it becomes incredibly dated. ‘I’m free to say whatever I like if it’s wrong or right, it’s alright.’ This might have been true in 1994, but this was before the passing of legislation such as the Communications Act 2003, the Equality Act 2010 and the Online Safety Act 2023. As a result of these acts, it is certainly not alright if you say something ‘wrong’. In fact, sometimes it does not matter at all whether what you have said is wrong. If it offends the wrong people, then you may very well find yourself with a policeman at your door.
Oasis also anticipated the 2026 labour market. ‘Is it worth the aggravation to find yourself a job when there’s nothing worth working for?’ Well in 2026 many young people do indeed find that looking for a job is not worth the aggravation considering that the employers’ National Insurance hike has made employers markedly more reluctant to hire. It is certainly not worth the hassle when combined with the fact that you can make more money on the dole anyway. At least Oasis were able to find solace from their woes in ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’ but with the taxation on such sins these days that’s hardly an option either.
Interestingly, Oasis are not the only band that you are a fan of who expressed pro-freedom sentiment through their lyrics. The Smiths, who you recently recited on the guitar in war-torn Ukraine, produced a lyric that could easily be the motto of a libertarian movement: ‘Leave me alone because I’m alright, Dad.’ We the Great British public do not need you to take care of us, Andy. We are perfectly capable of living our own lives without instruction from you. In fact, so many of the problems that exist in our lives are created by the state. Please do not try to be our father, we do not need you or a paternalist state to make our lives better. As Morrissey said, leave me alone.
To take away freedom, as the state has routinely sought to do over the past 30 years or so, is to take away a man’s soul. And as Oasis will tell you Andy, ‘as they took his soul, they took his pride’. It’s good to be free, Andy but unfortunately it has now been a very long time since anyone felt they were.
Here is the good part though. These are all actions that have been taken by previous governments over a large period of time. That does not mean that you have to carry them on, Andy. At one stage it looked as though your predecessor had grasped this fact when he promised ‘a government that would tread more lightly on your lives’. Sadly, we know how that ended. Instead, you could listen to Oasis and the Smiths (literally and figuratively), and put freedom at the forefront of public policy once again. Buy into that self-determination and autonomy that Manchesterism is supposed to embody. Start by repealing all those ghastly laws regulating free speech. Make it easy again for people to enter into contracts where they can work for market rates. Let people drink and smoke again without insisting it is bad for them. After all, true freedom means the freedom to make bad choices. I am afraid that if you fail to deliver on this, I might start a revolution from my bed.
The Free Future podcast with Steve Baker, from Fighting for a Free Future, is available on YouTube and our Substack.
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