Andy Burnham is leaving Greater Manchester with £1.34billion of outstanding borrowing, the largest debt pile of any combined authority in England, as he prepares to enter Downing Street.
Government figures show the former mayor’s borrowing stood at £1.34billion at the end of the last financial year, up from £964million before he took office in 2017.
When measured against population, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s borrowing equated to £462 per resident, making it the second highest of any combined authority in England.
The West Midlands Combined Authority, by comparison, has accumulated borrowing of £544million, meaning Greater Manchester’s total is almost two and a half times higher.
A report published on Monday suggested taxes could rise by £38billion under a Burnham premiership.
The increase in borrowing has been driven primarily by capital investment projects, including the flagship Bee Network integrated transport system, alongside housing and regeneration schemes.
Under his transport reforms, accounts showed Mr Burnham allocated £550,000 to paint 93 buses yellow.
The Bee Network generated a net annual deficit of £227million, according to the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), which said expenditure had increased since the network launched in 2023.
The organisation said the figures were a “reminder that bus franchising is, in general, expensive”.
Spending on management consultants also increased significantly during Mr Burnham’s time as mayor, rising from £8.7million in 2019 to £26.9million in 2025, according to data analytics firm Tussell.
The figures represent an increase of more than threefold over six years.
Sir James Cleverly, shadow housing minister, accused Mr Burnham of leaving Greater Manchester with a “mountain of debt” while taxpayers faced rising bills.
He tole The Telegraph: “In his time as mayor, the general mayoral council tax precept rose by a staggering 127 per cent. With the prime minister-in-waiting promising more and more spending, the national debt is set to hit new heights.”
William Yarwood, campaigns director at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said Mr Burnham’s record should concern the public.
Mr Yarwood said: “If Burnham-style Government means more borrowing, more bureaucracy and more bills pushed on to taxpayers, the country can ill afford it.”
A Reform UK spokesman described the incoming prime minister’s approach as “high tax, high spend” leadership, adding his mayoral precept increased by 44 per cent in a single year.
A Greater Manchester Combined Authority spokesman defended the authority’s financial position, saying the county has the largest devolution deal in England with annual spending of more than £3billion.
The spokesman said the authority is responsible for services including fire and rescue, police and crime commissioner functions and waste disposal, meaning direct comparisons with other combined authorities were not appropriate.
It added: “As the first place in England to bring buses back under local control after 40 years, alongside owning and operating the largest light rail network in the UK, we also own major transport infrastructure.”
A spokesman for Mr Burnham said the region’s finances remained “rock solid” and the financial position had helped attract investment while supporting what he described as the fastest-growing city-region economy in the country.
