Andy Burnham’s new Number 10 North is on Albert Square, but unlike the Manchester plaza’s namesake in EastEnders, there was no drama when the UK prime minister and Taoiseach Micheál Martin met there on Friday for the first time as national leaders.
After Donald Trump’s chaotic intervention in the Irish unity debate last week, the last thing Burnham or Martin wanted was to create another political soap opera. Both men played it safe in front of the cameras. Friday’s meeting was more about the vibes.
In that vein, Martin seemed chuffed to be the first world leader to visit Number 10 North, after Emmanuel Macron this month became the first to be welcomed by Burnham to the real Number 10 down south in London.
The most obvious thing to say about Number 10 North is that it is definitely not Downing Street. The new Manchester base in the nondescript Heron House office building is a world away from the historic cobbled terrace that is the prime minister’s London home.
The mixed-use Manchester building is shared with the northwest England branch of GCHQ, Britain’s cyber spooks agency. That probably explained the exhausting security procedures to enter, which made getting into the real Downing Street seem a doddle.
It is also unlikely there has ever been a meeting between Irish and British heads of government in a building with a Slug & Lettuce pub on the ground floor, beside a Dirty O’Sullivan’s. Yet such grit brought its own charm, in keeping with Burnham’s trademark everyman oeuvre.
Number 10 North also shares Heron House with a Manchester registry office. The Pankhurst Suite is the one normally used for weddings.
Burnham and Martin first convened in room four on the third floor, after which it is understood they discreetly discussed a wholly different type of union, away from the media in a private tete-a-tete.
Burnham arrived wearing a suitably green tie. The two leaders seemed to share a genuine warmth. Yet there was a poignant tinge to the bonhomie. Burnham’s father, Roy, died on Monday.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin and UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham at Number 10 North in Manchester on Friday. Photograph: EPA
At times during their opening remarks, the UK prime minister’s smile faded a little and he stared blankly at the floor for a few moments while his opposite number addressed the watching journalists.
It was perfectly natural that he might seem a little drained just four days after losing a parent. Martin seemed to notice and sympathised with him tenderly.
[ UK prime minister Andy Burnham cancels engagements following death of his fatherOpens in new window ]
After their hour together, during which they discussed issues such as Northern Ireland and UK relations with the European Union, the two men shared a car to the Brian Boru Irish club in Burnham’s Makerfield constituency.
Along the way, the sports-mad UK prime minister apparently asked the Taoiseach if he could get him tickets for an All-Ireland final. Many’s a prominent Cork man has been asked the same thing.
There was more sports diplomacy when they entered the Brian Boru, where they were welcomed by club’s president Tom Moran and about 30 lucky members who got access tickets for the big event in a club draw.
Since July’s escapades in Croke Park, everything about Ireland seems to have a Mayo GAA angle. The leaders jointly wished a legendary Louisburgh-born priest in Burnham’s constituency, Canon Patrick MacNally, a happy 90th birthday.
The gloriously effervescent elder man of the cloth was more interested in talking about Mayo’s All-Ireland win.
Burnham seemed a little more relaxed at the Brian Boru, a man among friends. He will face tougher days than this politically, though perhaps not so many personally.