Downing Street tells Burnham to drop the beer and football

Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, has been told by Number 10 officials to tone down what they call his "blokeish" social media presence. GB News reports that advisers want him to be "more like Keir Starmer" - fewer references to football and pubs, more ministerial gravity.

The Independent reports that a minister was forced to deny that Burnham is "too blokey", while the Mirror notes separate pressure on the mayor to block the early release of PC Andrew Harper's killers, with over six hundred and fifty thousand signatures on a petition. GB News also reports calls for Burnham to raise income tax to fifty-two percent in Greater Manchester.

The word doing work here is "blokeish" - a term that manages to be both an insult and a compliment, depending on who is using it. It suggests approachability, but also a lack of polish; relatability, but also a deficit of seriousness. The question is whether a mayor elected by his region should sound like the people who elected him, or like the advisers who did not.

Burnham has been Mayor since the role was created. The job was designed to bring decision-making closer to the people it affects. Whether that includes the mayor's register on social media will be tested by how his electorate responds - not by how Downing Street does.

Watch whether Burnham changes his tone, and whether his approval rating moves with it.