00:00He's the new leader of the Labour Party, he's set to be Prime Minister on Monday
00:05and he's certainly not speaking to local media here in Gravesend.
00:10Andy Burnham greeted local MPs and councillors in his first big visit to Kent
00:17but while he was more than happy to take selfies, the former Manchester Mayor
00:23didn't put himself forward to us for interview on the big issues that matter here.
00:29Though he did give his backing for the return of the Tilbury Gravesend Ferry
00:34when preaching to the converted, much to the excitement of the town's MP.
00:41Welcome Dandy in, gave him a nice big hug, lovely to see him, congratulated him
00:46and then I went straight to the juggler which was, can we have the Gravesend Tilbury Ferry back?
00:51Can you help me with this campaign?
00:52And he understood it because it's about connectivity and it's about allowing people to get to jobs
00:57and it's also about protecting and helping our high streets and our businesses.
01:01Burnham has become Labour leader without any opposition.
01:06There have been concerns that the so-called King of the North is an unknown quantity here in the South
01:13East.
01:14As usual, we've been left in the dark about what the next Prime Minister, who let's not forget is unelected,
01:20has no mandate to govern, is being inserted into number 10.
01:24I'd love to know what he thought but unfortunately he's been avoiding all scrutiny, all interviews with proper journalists.
01:32Politicians in Kent have been giving him their backing, saying he could transform the county.
01:39He will be a Prime Minister for all parts of the country.
01:43Look, he's been a fantastic member of the local and regional government family for the last 10 years
01:48and he's done an amazing job in Greater Manchester.
01:51He's one of the reasons why we're so desperate to see a mayoral combined authority for Kent and Medway.
01:57And I hope with his leadership we'll see that come sooner rather than later.
02:00With Wes Streeting also dodging interviews with us when he was Health Secretary,
02:06Burnham isn't the first senior politician to avoid Kent's local media.
02:12He's hoping he's more forthcoming on future visits or when he sets out his stall on Monday.
02:18Olly Leader in Gravesend.
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