The leaders shared the story during a talk at the Night Time Economy Summit in Liverpool
Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram (left) and Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham at the Night Time Economy Summit(Image: PA)
Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram have spoken about the time they were scolded by a barmaid during a night out in Merseyside. The Greater Manchester Mayor and Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor shared the story during a talk at the Night Time Economy Summit in Liverpool today (February 12).
The summit was held at Blackstock Market and the two leaders both hailed the hospitality industry as part of the lifeblood that shapes their respective regions. Mr Burnham said: “This sector brings the gold dust. It brings the visitors, it brings everything. If we didn’t have what we’ve got, and lucky to have, then our city regions would be nowhere near where we want them to be.”
Mr Burnham said prioritising the sector is key to growth and transforming the personality of districts outside of the city centre. He said: “We’re starting to see in Liverpool and Manchester City Region, the great things about the city starting to seep into the boroughs.”
The 56-year-old, who was born in Old Roan, shared a story from the time he attended the Salt and Tar festival in Bootle as he said: “It shows you some of the challenges you have when you are starting this journey of turning a place around.”
The festival brings high profile acts and thousands of people to Bootle as stars such as Billy Ocean, Tom Jones and Status Quo have headlined in the past. The two politicians attended the event, which is run by Sefton Council, on the day local band Red Rum Club performed at the first edition in 2023.
Mr Rotheram told the crowd: “They are absolutely fantastic, but it just happened to be a monsoon. It was an outdoor venue so we were soaked right through.” Mr Rotheram and Mr Burnham sought shelter in a nearby pub as they headed towards the now closed Mayflower.
Mr Rotheram was ordering drinks for the group, as he said: “We ordered beers and Kevin (a member of his team) asked for a wine. The barmaid asked, ‘Red or white?’ and Kevin said, ‘White’. He asked me, ‘What type is it?’, so I turned to the barmaid and said, ‘Excuse me, what type is it?’
“And she said, ‘It’s f*****g white, I just told you.” However, Mr Rotheram said the straight talking customer service endeared him to the place.
He added: “But that didn’t turn us off. I thought that was a brilliant thing. We were waiting to go next time because we thought, ‘This is brilliant this.'”
Mr Burnham stepped in and joked: “We’ve gentrified the Mayflower.” The Mayflower was a much loved pub located to the side of Bootle Strand Shopping Centre before it closed its doors in 2024 and was demolished last year.
The Mayflower pub in Bootle(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
The Night Time Economy Summit was held across two days at the Blackstock Market. Angela Rayner was another notable name to deliver a speech at the event and the former Deputy Prime Minister was delighted to be in Liverpool as she described the city as “an icon its own right.”
Ms Rayner also called on Sir Keir Starmer’s government to deliver on election promises. She suggested the Government reviews business rates and puts “rocket boosters” on its activity in the nighttime sector to invigorate prosperity and improve high streets.
During a question and answer session after her speech, Ms Rayner, forced from Government last year over a tax row involving her properties, said: “And I think that we’ve got to recognise, it’s not even the double whammy, it’s not even the triple whammy.
“I mean, I talked about the challenges on business rates, the challenges on VAT. The challenges, yes, the minimum wage going up and the living wage and the costs of energy.
“We’ve got to start looking at the intersectionality of all these challenges and start relieving some of them. So we’ve talked about a review of business rates.
“We’ve got, as I said in speeches before, to put rocket boosters of what we promised at the election and start delivery.
“Now, we’ve only had a short time in Government, but I really believe that in order to get that hearing, people have to see the urgency of which the sector is facing.”
Ms Rayner said the Government should take a more “permissive approach” to licensing the sector and would support having a minister specifically responsible for the nighttime economy to champion the sector at the national level.
She added: “But I also think our high streets will only be saved by looking at the hospitality sector as well. People see the high street and they think it’s decaying. And actually, it’s the hospitality sector and the nighttime economy that is really breathing life back into our communities and our high streets.
“So we’ve really got to try and think of how policies can drive that, and how we can practically assist.”