As soon as I heard I was given the opportunity to interview Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester and Labour candidate for the upcoming Makerfield bi-election, I knew I had to take it right away! On the 2nd of June, Andy Burnham came into my school, St Edmund Arrowsmith, located in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, and eight other students and I students settled down to question him. From politics to “What is your go to karaoke song?”, we all were delighted to be able to talk with him.

As someone who is very interested into politics, I was thrilled by this amazing opportunity. When Mr Burnham and his marvellous crew arrived, the room was flooded with his powerful presence. We welcomed them, expressed our upmost gratitude, and sat down at the table, ready for the grilling. We may only be Year 10 students, but we didn’t let Mr Burnham off lightly!

We each in turn questioned Mr Burnham and as a young person myself, I have concerns for my fellow students, so I asked: “What do you think is the biggest challenge facing young people in Manchester today and how do you act upon this?”.

In response, one of Andy Burnham’s conclusions was, “I don't think we've got enough youth provision around. I’ve talked about an Ashton youth zone as part of my mayoral campaign. I think we're lacking something like that here, you know, a place that people can go every night without that, young people can be drawn into more negative things.”

I was very satisfied with Mr Burnham’s response as it showed his great consideration and concern, as a politician, for younger people!

As time passed, and we were getting to the last inch of our meeting, I put myself forward to ask another question, which was again related to younger people, but also myself personally. I asked, “I'm very interested in politics and would like to be a political journalist when I am older or even just involved in politics. What advice would you give me or anyone who's young who wants to be involved in politics or public services?” By identifying me as the one who’s “going to be the journalist” at the start of the interview, he gave me a very honest and comforting response of advice.

He told me, “If I'm honest, I didn't always fully believe in myself enough. But don't let that doubt get the better of you. You've got a really clear ambition. There’s no reason at all why you cannot fulfil that ambition.” His reply felt personal as he stated that I was exactly like him when he was my age!

After the interview was over, we all got a selfie and picture, which I will treasure for life. Overall, Mr Burnham was incredibly welcoming, nice and passionate about his job. I believe he cares about the people of Makerfield and wants to help us all!