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By Ryan Geraghty

Shadow Minister for Schools and MP for Wythenshawe and Sale East Mike Kane recently came to Manchester Metropolitan University to deliver a lecture entitled ‘Political Power in Turbulent Times’. The lecture covered topics such as education, class background and Labour’s ongoing problems, Kane also expressing concern over tensions among the Conservatives regarding the NHS and Brexit.

Kane graduated from Manchester Met in 1998 and went on to work as a primary school teacher and as a councillor for Manchester City Council. He formerly held the role of Shadow Minister for International Development.

The first half of the lecture was more personal than political, with Kane discussing his upbringing and explaining that he feels developing a strong narrative and helping people understand politics is very important. Talking about his parents’ immigration from Ireland in 1955 in order to escape poverty, he said, “I was very much a working class student.” His mother suffered from multiple sclerosis, and he talked about how his upbringing and the difficulties he faced, particularly regarding his mother’s illness, led him to a career in politics. “Only by doing things will you get a reaction”, he said.

He went on to talk about the importance of leadership stating, “Really good politicians are relational politicians”, going on to compare relational power to cohesive power and saying, “The primary purpose of leadership is to create more leaders not followers […] I’m looking for future leaders every day.”

There was a distinctly cooperative tone to Kane’s lecture as he used the phrase “A rising tide floats all boats” several times and constantly appealed for “solidarity” among people. This was reflected in the second half of the lecture, which became more of an open debate as the audience members discussed concerns over issues such as Brexit and the NHS.

When questioned about the triggering of Article 50, Kane expressed uncertainty, saying, “I’ve not made up my mind how I’m going to vote.” He added, “Brexit has pulled the rug out from under everybody.” Admitting disappointment about the referendum result, he said, “[I] made a mistake agreeing to the referendum.” He went on to make it clear how much he values the single market and said it should be prioritised above freedom of movement: “Part of free market is free movement […] why should only capital be free?”

Ultimately, Kane claimed that he would vote for what he thought was best for his constituents, stressing the importance of making a political decision on its individual merit rather than for overall political gain: “I’d rather lose a general election than not make a decision in good conscience.”

When asked about the NHS, Kane said, “[We’re] having a false debate at the moment”, claiming that more money should be put into social care and preventing people from going to hospital in the first place. He also said that a lot of tough questions Theresa May receives regarding the NHS in the Commons were coming from behind her, from the Conservatives themselves.

When questioned about cuts to research and development funding, he said, “[It’s] the uncertainty [surrounding Brexit] that’s causing the damage.” He went on to condemn Tory cuts, saying, “Austerity’s been a whole crock, it’s been rubbish.”

Kane ended the lecture with a suggestion that, in these troubling times, we look towards the light: “This rampant world we’ve got going on at the moment, y’know, people will wake up to it.”

Ryan Geraghty is a freelance journalist and political writer based in Manchester. He is a contributor to The Word newspaper and is currently studying for an MA in Multimedia Journalism. Follow him on Twitter @RP_Geraghty