Andy Burnham has criticised Prime Ministers for being upper class and claimed that “northerners face discrimination in London”.

The Greater Manchester Mayor, 49, previously served as an MP for Leigh and also held cabinet roles as health secretary as well as secretary of state for the department of culture, media and sport.

However following his failed bid to become Labour leader after losing out to Jeremy Corbyn in September 2015, he relocated to Greater Manchester and was elected its first metro mayor in May 2017.

He has pledged to end homelessness in the region and has dedicated his career to highlighting its inadequate transport networks. Yet he has also repeatedly complained about the prominence of the capital in comparison to the north of England.

In his latest comments in an interview with the British GQ August issue, he was asked about whether there was a different mentality between northerners and southerners, and said: "I believe so. I feel that northerners face discrimination in certain walks of life in London. How many Labour prime ministers have come from the north of England? [One: Harold Wilson] And, yes, I think that we are different."