Andy Burnham praised Extinction Rebellion for elevating climate change agenda

Andy Burnham has faced scrutiny following the emergence of comments he made in October 2019 while serving as the Mayor of Greater Manchester. During a public question time event, Burnham stated that the activist group Extinction Rebellion (XR) had performed a “great service” by elevating climate change within the political agenda at a time when Brexit dominated discourse.

While Burnham noted that the disruptive nature of the protests—which included targeting London City Airport and the public transport network—worried him due to the risk of making climate change a “divisive” issue, he maintained that the group succeeded in bringing the topic to the forefront.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp criticized the remarks, arguing that national issues should be decided through debate and elections rather than the “deliberate disruption of other people’s lives.” Philp called for Burnham to withdraw his support, characterizing the protest tactics as “reckless criminality.”