Andy Burnham has splashed out more than £100,000 in taxpayer funding to a charity that supports access to puberty blockers for transgender children, official documents show. The Greater Manchester Mayor and leadership rival to Sir Keir Starmer shelled out £112,000 to the LGBT Foundation to deliver “non-binary inclusion” training and equality programmes.
Overall, the Labour politician has spent £179,827 on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The details were unearthed using a Freedom of Information request. His Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) forked out more than £50,000 a year for the charity to run the LGBTQ+ Equality Panel, which attempts to “tackle inequality and promote inclusion across the city-region”.
The panel’s annual report shows that it has used part of the £112,000 to run “trans and non-binary awareness” sessions.
The training, aimed at encouraging public sector staff and community partners to adopt inclusive language, challenge gender-based assumptions, and revise services in line with self-identified gender rather than biological sex.
This year, the LGBT Foundation also received £900 in public funds to cover the cost of a guest speaker for LGBT+ training.
These sessions include personal testimonies, explanations of key concepts like sexual orientation, gender identity, and inclusive language, as well as guidance on creating safe and supportive environments in the workplace.
In July 2024, the charity hit out at the Supreme Court’s decision to ban private prescriptions of puberty blockers for under‑18s.
“As a charity committed to the health and wellbeing of all LGBTQ+ people, we are deeply disappointed by the High Court’s decision to uphold the ban on puberty blockers for young trans people,” it said in a statement.
It added: “In the meantime, we ask everyone to openly show their love and support for trans and non-binary people and back organisations like TransActual, who are among many making this country a better place for our community.”
Mr Burnham has also approved a taxpayer grant of £68,000 for Manchester Pride, the region’s annual festival for LGBT+ people.
The move has drawn criticism from campaigners, who have questioned whether public funds should support organisations involved in contentious debates over gender identity and youth healthcare.
Nick Buckley, the founder of homelessness charity The Mancunian Way, told the Daily Express: “Andy Burnham has used his role as Mayor to strengthen his next bid to lead the Labour Party.
“This has entailed keeping the far-Left and woke progressives on board by funding their pet projects. While at the same time, avoiding his public involvement in the culture wars so his reputation as a common sense ‘man of the people’ is not damaged.
“If he really was a ‘man of the people’, then he would have exploded the grooming gangs scandal in Greater Manchester because the GMCA also involves the police and crime commissioner.”
A GMCA spokesperson said: “We have a range of equality panels set up to tackle inequalities and represent issues facing our residents, including women and girls, older people, faith groups, and LGBTQ+ communities.
“Those panels provide advice, support, and challenge to Greater Manchester’s political leaders and policymakers when it comes to ending discrimination and injustice in society, and improving the delivery of public services.
“LGBT Foundation is commissioned through a transparent procurement process to provide administrative support for one of those panels. They do not provide policy advice or lead the panel.
“Funding decisions of the GMCA are taken by all 11 members, and our procurement processes and the panels’ reports are a matter of public record.”