Andy Burnham defends council's decision to axe Bonfire Night celebrations across Manchester

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Mayor Andy Burnham has said people need to 'cut Manchester City Council some slack' over their decision to axe the city's Bonfire Night celebrations due to 'escalating costs'.

Speaking to callers on his weekly phone-in on BBC Radio Manchester, the mayor of Greater Manchester defended the council's decision to cancel major public bonfire nights and fireworks displays this year, saying councils must 'prioritise' the cost of living crisis.

The decision, which was announced yesterday, has sparked public fury - and prompted multiple angry questions to Mr Burnham in his phone-in with radio host Mike Sweeney this morning. READ MORE: Woman searching for man called Paul she met on TUI flight to Manchester who she 'clicked' with On Facebook Live, one listener asked if the council should 'u-turn' on its decision not to hold Bonfire Night displays this year - saying the council's reasoning of 'funding' issues 'doesn't wash'. "Given they [residents] spend a fortune for car parking at Heaton Park and are spending over £325 million on the Town Hall repairs, to say its funding doesn't wash," the listener wrote. "How much will public transport and our economy lose in revenue as a result of this decision?" Responding, Mr Burnham acknowledged the large public outcry to yesterday's announcement, saying it is 'a question a lot of people are asking today'. "This is a council decision first and foremost, so its not one that I've had any involvement in, so I can't necessarily that I was in the room when that decision was made," he said. "However, I am not going to say that it is the wrong decision, because what I see at the moment is all of our councils - Manchester City Council, but all the other nine as well, they are shaking every