Hello. What to make of Andy Burnham?
Well, the answer could lie in a charismatic Catholic-raised Mancunian music fan who studied at Cambridge, attempted a big career in London before finding himself back in Manchester before embarking on a wider mission with the North West as its muse.
I am not, in fact talking about Burnham, but journalist, Factory Records founder, nightclub owner and all-round character Anthony (Tony) H. Wilson. Wilson and Burnham both have interesting similarities and differences.
I am not sure my view on Burnham as a politician is all that helpful to anyone read to reading this. All I’ll say is I didn’t like the last government, or the one before that, or indeed the one before that, etc.
However, on some level I like Burnham, or at least I like the things he appears to like, the most notable being Manchester, music and Celtic. If you want a political assessment of Burnham, read Jennifer Williams of the FT’s articles. She gives a really balanced and informed insight having followed his trajectory from ousted New Labour MP to mayor to PM from quite early on. This is her latest.
Wilson and Burnham appear to share one major character similarity and one major character difference which are interrelated. Both developed a reputation for being contradictory, however, Wilson embraced it on a level that formed part of his personality and Burnham appears to be largely pretty sensitive to it.
It’s not unreasonable you could have got to this point and are thinking to yourself: Who the hell is Tony Wilson? Well From Manchester with Love (the best biography I have ever read) by notable music journo and long-time Wilson observer Paul Morley rattles off some of the highlights
Tony Wilson can also be described as:
- Combining punk snootiness with snooty pseudo-intellectual pretension
- A sponge for popular culture
- Sectarian cultist
- Indulging in a series of unfortunate flings
- Giving himself constantly away
- Bankrupt, twice, for not paying his taxes, either because he couldn’t afford to, never made the money he should or could have, suffering from some sort of Catholic anxiety, or Marxist diffidence, or was enacting some sort of situationist prank.
Wilson was a journo on Granada reports, anchoring news, conducting TV reports as well as a TV and radio presenter. He also, along with Alan Erasmus, Rob Gretton and Martin Hannet, started Factory Records which brought us the likes of Joy Division, latterly New Order, Happy Mondays, Cabaret Voltaire, Durrutti Column and others.
Factory Records then with New Order founded a famous club known as the The Haçienda (you might of heard of it), which was largely pretty unsuccessful as a business, even during the few years it was successful culturally as the centre of the Madchester rave scene. If there are lessons in running a business from Tony, Factory and the Haçienda, it’d be a series on how not to run one. This is perhaps most encapsulated by the fact Blue Monday, by New Order and the best-selling 12” single in history, lost money on every copy sold because of the cover design.
Burnham is not Wilson; Wilson is not Burnham. But if you are trying to assess the thinking behind someone trying to break the assumption that everything needs to be done from London it’s worth comparing the two. Wilson shifted the assumption that northern bands needed to go to London and regional music scenes were unexportable, fashioning a legacy of music and attitudes that last to this day. On the other hand, business-wise… see the anecdote about Blue Monday.
I hold a lot of reverence for Wilson, I doubt I’ll think much about Burnham beyond the fact we could have a fairly pleasant time discussing our record collections over a pint. At the end of the day, one brought us Joy Division and the other is merely prime minister.
The News:
LANG CAT & CLIENT MENTIONS
Beyond administration: what advisers really value in a platform
Rich looks into what advisers look for in platforms.
Source: IFA Magazine
Pension transfer times remain at the 10-day mark
Some data from the Origo Transfer Index.
Source: FT Adviser
What the decumulation shift means for advice firms, and how the best are responding
Aberdeen Adviser’s Andy Zanelli considers how the DC generation will affect decumulation advice.
Source: Professional Adviser
Matt Storey: The Platform Borg III – The off-platformers guide to the galaxy
@sipp in MM invoking Hitchhiker’s Guide.
Source: Money Marketing
Don’t share your ‘secret sauce’: Experts warn against risky AI use
Amal Jolly of Saturn speaks to Citywire.
Source: Citywire NMA
The importance of decent data for helping advice firms with regulatory compliance
A column from Raw Knowledge.
Source: Professional Paraplanner
AI and advice: On fish and bicycles
A Pilot penned piece. Fun fact, Guinness did an advertising campaign based on this phrase.
Source: IFA Magazine
Dean Proctor: Hopes and fears for the new PM and cabinet
7IM talks politics.
Source: Professional Adviser
AI use among UK financial advisers jumps by 31pp
According to research by intelliflo.
Source: FT Adviser
Acquisitions should offer clients more than just the status quo
Anthony Carty, managing director at Clifton Wealth Partnership, looks at how acquisitions can deliver more than continuity for clients.
Source: IFA Magazine
ADVISERS
Advice valuations near peak high, but PE investors more discerning
A look at the M&A market.
Source: Citywire NMA
Are your clients Nervous Noras when it comes to investing?
Yo-yo yasmines?
Source: FT Adviser
Adviser firm revenue reaches £8.38bn in 2025
Not bad.
Source: Professional Adviser
PLATFORMS
LTAF platform progress delayed by urgent ISA and pensions work
Cash in ISAs and IHT for pensions means platforms have deprioritised (which apparently is a word) LTAFs.
Source: Citywire NMA
INVESTMENTING & WEALTH MANAGERS
Wealth firms rethink fees on cash as FCA targets ‘double dipping’
Source: Citywire WM
Fund firms deploy ETF ‘spaghetti cannon’ in hunt for next hot trade
Through with this now.
Source: FT
MPS: FCA focus shifting beyond outcomes to the processes behind them
A look at the implications for MPS selection.
Source: Professional Adviser
FCA MPS review to weed out providers ‘in it for the fad’
According to Tatton.
Source: FT Adviser
US hits 60 countries with new duties as Donald Trump rebuilds tariff wall
Yipee for whisky.
Source: FT; BBC
REGULATION & POLICY
HMRC social media scam report email used just three times
It has been used a mere three times since its launch in November.
Source Professional Adviser
FCA to Secret PE Consolidator: ‘We agree, risk conversation must change’
I will remain forever sceptical of the “we need to stop telling people it’s risky” attitude to getting the public investing.
Source: Citywire WM
London Stock Exchange plans to launch round-the-clock trading next year
LSE attempting to tap into trading parameters of crypto-based markets.
Source: FT
Quilter partners with Netflix relationship therapist to promote shared financial planning
Yep, that oughta do it.
Source: FT Adviser
PENSIONS & RETIREMENT
UK pension insurers raise exposure to opaque private credit
Sure it’s nothing to worry about.
Source: FT
End of an error: Overhaul to speed up pension and ISA transfers
Source: Citywire NMA
Over 55s more worried about care costs than IHT
Source: Professional Adviser
The start-up asking employers to fund your baby’s retirement
Some intriguing ideas discussed here.
Source: Citywire WM
Torsten Bell reappointed as Pensions Minister
Pensions and policy crossover episode.
Source: Pensions Age
TRADE & ECONOMY
Burnham must remember the first rule of government
Leave your soul at the door?
Source: FT
‘Relatively safe pair of hands’: John Healey becomes chancellor
Source: FT Adviser
Government’s IHT and CGT receipts rise in June
John Rawls liked that.
Source: Wealth Investment News
CRAZY CAT STORIES
Robot cats bringing comfort to people with dementia in Leyland
Interesting.
Source: BBC News
OUTSIDE THE TRADE
Rockin’ in the free world: why our politicians love turning it up to 11
On the topic of politicians and music.
Source: The Times
Bloomsbury gets payout in $1.5bn Anthropic copyright case
Interesting implications.
Source: The Times
Greaves Sports sold to Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group
Can folk with money stop ruining things.
Source: The Herald
Sean McKinven is PR account executive at the lang cat
