What Does Success Look Like For Me - And You?

Let me break the bad news to you: Andy Burnham will probably be victorious in the mayoral election and win a third term in office. I hope I am proven wrong but we must live in reality, not create an imaginary world where our wishes come true.

It would have been a different story if George Galloway had stood a candidate for Mayor and attracted a hundred thousand votes from disaffected Labour voters. But he did not. So the best we can hope for is a reduction in the share of the vote that Mayor Burnham receives. Be mindful, I said the same thing last time and his share of the vote increased!

The real fight in this election is for second place. The contenders are the Tories, Reform UK and the amazingly good-looking Independent Candidate. The Greens and LibDems are realistically fighting for the third spot, as well as keeping their deposit. To be completely honest, Reform UK and I are also fighting to keep our deposits – five thousand pounds is a lot of money to lose.

The Tories have finished in second place in both previous elections but with a reduced share of the vote. Last election they got 19%. We know the Tories are finished nationally and are going to be wiped out at the next general election – so what do Tory voters do in this election? Remain loyal to the party that has destroyed the country over 14 years or lend their vote to someone else? This is the major question of this election.

What do disaffected Labour voters do? Many are fed up with Andy Burnham and see through his spin and PR. They are looking for a patriotic candidate who wants to improve the lives of the ordinary folk. We all see that the Mayor is only interested in becoming Prime Minister. This is a great aim to have. We need more people with aspirations and the drive to reach their goals, but it should not be at the expense of the people of Greater Manchester.

The largest group of potential voters that I am trying to attract are the non-voters. These are my fellow citizens who have the right to vote but are so fed up with the state of British politics that they do not bother to take part in the process. They are not stupid but have been ground down over decades and given up. They have been let down by politicians so many times that they no longer see a point in casting their ballot. Can we blame them? No. For if we are to apportion blame then those that run the system are ultimately responsible.

My offer to the people of Greater Manchester is simple: I want your life to be better and I will help you achieve it.

My offer is not: I will make your life better for you.

I will not treat my fellow citizens like children and remove their personal responsibility because I think I know better. The fact is I do not know better. No one knows better than you when it comes to your life. I will give you back control so you can pursue your dreams, not the dreams the government has for you.

My job as Mayor is to fix the foundations so you have a solid base to launch yourself to take on the world. We need safer streets, better schools, and public services that work. We need to foster a sense of community and neighbourhood – not just a place where you happen to live. We need to promote and strengthen the family for this is the cornerstone of society that gives children the best start in life.

I am not going to spend time and money on new vanity projects so I can have my name in lights for there is no point when our foundations are crumbling.

I do not promise the voter a utopia, only a life where they are in control of their future. Life is hard. It will remain hard. But knowing you are in charge means you can change it anytime you wish.

If someone guaranteed me second place in this election – I would snatch their hand off and use this success as a springboard to win next time. #NickBuckley4Mayor