North Yorkshire Mayor Takes On Greater Manchester Colleague

Mayors David Skaith and Andy Burnham went head-to-head at Scarborough Cricket Club to raise awareness of the benefits of sport on mental health and wellbeing.

The sun was out as the elected mayors of York and North Yorkshire and Greater Manchester, David Skaith and Andy Burnham, walked on to the pitch at Scarborough Cricket Club on Wednesday for a Roses T20 cricket match.

Both keen cricketers – though Mayor Burnham admitted that football comes first for him – were on the coast to promote the work of their councils in supporting healthy communities, with a focus on men’s mental health.

It was also a chance for the leaders and their teams to discuss cross-Pennine cooperation and devolution, and they used the opportunity to call for the North to be given more powers from central Government.

Mayor Skaith recently launched a £715,000 Men’s Mental Health Investment Programme dedicated to improving men’s mental health, alongside a £2.75m programme to help reduce inequalities and improve wellbeing through increased participation in movement, activity, and sport.

“When I had my [mental health] struggles a few years ago, I found that I wasn’t doing any activity, I wasn’t engaged with people, I wasn’t socialising with anyone,” the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire said:

“But as soon as I went back to sports, and particularly cricket, I found that I was engaged with people again, I was talking to people, and it’s not necessarily about how you’re feeling, it’s just putting yourself in a much nicer environment to be in.

“We spend all week at work and then we can take those troubles and challenges home, but actually having that outlet where we can go and do something enjoyable by playing sport, it’s a great way to socialise, express yourself and just engage with people in a much more positive environment.”

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Mayor Skaith said the £715,000 fund was aimed at “filling in those gaps in needs and requirements”, especially in coastal and rural areas that have a “lack of offering”.

“We know so many of our rural communities often have a village hall, they have a cricket club, a football club, they have these core facilities in their communities, so it’s how we can step in and how we can support those communities to offer something else.”

As the region’s Police, Fire, and Crime Commissioner, he said a focus would also be improving mental health in “very male-dominated sectors in our region, two of which are police and fire”.

Andy Burnham, the elected Mayor of Greater Manchester, said:

“I think it’s a great thing to bring the two combined authorities together, and also promoting what David is doing around men’s mental health, I think it’s a fantastic thing.”

Commenting on the role of mayors in creating change, he told the LDRS:

“We’re living in times where people feel nothing’s working.

“The idea of devolution is just ‘give more power to places to do more for ourselves’ and not wait for national policy to solve it because it never did.

“Give the north more power, we’ll do more with it.”

“We’ll work more together as we’re doing and that’s why I’m proud to support David and his team.

“Devolution is changing the north for the better, and the more we collaborate and stick together as one north, the better.”

Asked what he thought about playing at Scarborough Cricket Club, Mayor Burnham said he was “quite an old traditionalist when it comes to venues and places like this” and that “when you think of what’s happened here over the decades, it’s just incredible, it’s a privilege to play here.”

The Greater Manchester mayor revealed that he had “Freddie Flintoff signed up” to join his team, “because I helped him with the making of one of his programmes”.

However, the former international cricketer had to pull out due to other commitments.

Also at the event was Jack Woodhams, Chief Executive Officer of the charity Menfulness, which recently extended its offer to the North Yorkshire Coast.

Speaking to the LDRS, he said:

“At Menfulness, we believe in the power of connection, conversation and community and this event brings all three to life.

“We’re also thrilled to be expanding our Menfulness offering to Scarborough, enabling us to reach and support even more men across the Yorkshire region.”