Andy Burnham has said he would join a picket line as he urged politicians to 'get round the table' and find a solution to the cost of living crisis that's gripping the nation.
Speaking to Sky News, the mayor of Greater Manchester said he would stand shoulder to shoulder with RMT Unionist and face of the 'Enough is Enough' campaign, Mick Lynch.
It comes after he penned an opinion piece in the Mirror this weekend calling for the cost of living debate to consider the 'excessive pay' being given to those in the highest positions.
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Asked by Kay Burley whether he'd share a picket line with Mick Lynch, Mr Burnham said: "I would - I don't see this as controversial. People are fighting for their incomes in a cost of living crisis.
"And so of course you've got to recognise the point they are making. They are going to work but they don't have enough to live on. I would say particularly to the government and if it is to be Liz Truss as the next Prime Minister - get round the table.
"We've had a whole summer of making the unions responsible for everything - all kinds of unhelpful rhetoric. You need to get round the table and there needs to be sector by sector deals here that are fair to people and to keep the country running."
The Greater Manchester Mayor also called for a conversation about the disparity in pay between the lowest paid and highest paid workers in this country.
"If people ask how that should be paid for I would say 'we need now to open a debate about the culture of high and excessive pay in the top half of organisations," he added.
"This has gone on and on and on over the last decades where the gap between those at the bottom and those at the top gets bigger and bigger. In the FTSE 100 on average the pay of those at the top is 109pc higher than the pay of those at the bottom. That is why people are saying enough is enough."
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Writing for the Mirror, Mr Burnham acknowledged why many people had been galvanised by the 'Enough is Enough' campaign, which was launched in direct response to the cost of living crisis.
"On pay, enough is truly enough. To get through this crisis fairly, we need to see freezes or even cuts for those in the top 50% to pay for rises lower down," he wrote.
"Public bodies should be aiming for a pay differential of no more than 10 between the bottom and top and the private sector should be encouraged to follow.
"Rather than ignoring ‘Enough Is Enough’, politicians should sit down with them and start working out, sector by sector, fair pay deals to keep heads above water.
"That means approaching this winter in the same spirit as the early days of the pandemic: by putting politics aside and remembering how much we all depend on those key workers."
Mr Burnham also told Sky News he would consider "one day" running for prime minister as Labour leader. The Greater Manchester mayor said his focus is still on his current job and that he supports Sir Keir Starmer, but will not rule out standing in the future.
"Perhaps one day, if that would be something people would support, but not now because we’ve got a leader of the Labour Party who is providing leadership during the cost-of-living crisis and I’m happy to give my full support to Keir.
"And I’ve got a job to do in Greater Manchester … and I’m making big changes to public transport, which hopefully will get people through this, and that’s where my full focus is right now."
He added: "I’m just being honest, in the future, I’ve said I’ll serve a full second term as (mayor). If at some point beyond, way beyond this point where we are, that that was something that was a possibility, I would consider it."
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