Yesterday, two former regional mayors called Andy were holding centre stage in Manchester.

While Andy Burnham spoke of creating a ‘No 10 North’ as he addressed the nation’s media at the People’s History Museum, Andy Street was canvassing the views of a select group of business leaders.

Burnham and Street struck up a firm friendship when they were the respective mayors of Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, but their paths have since diverged.

While Burnham is widely tipped to become the UK’s next Prime Minister, Street is now co-chair of the political think tank Prosper UK, which believes the UK needs a politics focused on growth, opportunity and making people genuinely better off.

Business leaders taking part in Downtown in Business’ latest Leaders Lunch with Andy Street

On Monday, he was at The Lowry Hotel taking part in Downtown in Business’s latest Leaders Lunch, held in association with BusinessCloud and attended by a group of business leaders.

The roundtable explored the issues currently shaping the business landscape, with a particular focus on AI, technology and the opportunities these sectors present for innovation, investment and economic growth.

Speaking afterwards, Street said businesses want practical help from politicians on issues such as the talent pipeline, affordability and housing.

He told BusinessCloud: “Perhaps the underlying thing is they want to be listened to. There’s a sense we’ve been taken for granted a bit and been taxed heavily as well.

“The most important thing of all from the political side is listening, partnership and working on things together.”

Street said he wanted to see more people like himself enter politics after successful careers in business.

“It’s very unusual in the UK to have businesspeople go into politics,” he said. “If we were in the US, it’s far more common.

“I do think there’s a mindset around the most important word at the moment: delivery. You only survive in business if you get stuff done. What do we hear? That Britain doesn’t deliver enough stuff, so I think that mindset from business would really help in the political class.”

Street famously enjoyed an excellent relationship with Andy Burnham when the pair were mayors and said cross-party collaboration was crucial.

He said: “I really believed that the mayoral role achieved most when it was working cross-party. If you could really get people behind ideas, then the chances of them coming through were greatest.

“When you united people across party lines and brought together academic institutions and businesses, you could really move the needle in the region.”

Street said he welcomed greater devolution – with certain safeguards.

“Let’s not get drunk on it,” he said. “I was a huge believer in devolution, which is why I gave up my job to become mayor.

“There are more things that can still be devolved. There are more powers and  cash that regional mayors need to really deliver, but equally you have to be careful that there is accountability for regional mayors.”

  • BusinessCloud’s executive editor Chris Maguire and Frank McKenna, chief executive and group chairman of Downtown in Business, host the Northern Spin podcast. You can listen to the latest episode here