Andy Burnham criticised for using private jet to travel from Glasgow to Manchester

Andy Burnham faced criticism over using a private jet for travel between Glasgow and Manchester as his premiership begins to relocate power to “Number 10 North” in Manchester. The report says Burnham flew an Airbus 321 from London Stansted to Glasgow at 12:45pm on Thursday to attend the opening ceremony of the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, then met Douglas Alexander and First Minister John Swinney in Scotland. On Friday morning, he used the same aircraft for the Glasgow-to-Manchester trip, described as taking 38 minutes. Estimates cited in the article put the cost to taxpayers at around £3,000 and about 30 tonnes of carbon dioxide. The UK government said official aircraft are used in line with the ministerial code and rules for official travel. Conservative chair Kevin Hollinrake accused Burnham of hypocrisy, noting Labour had criticized previous prime ministers, and that a 2023 pledge by Rachel Reeves targeted private jet use.