Andy Burnham touts Manchester model, forgets city is in major debt

It is wild that we basically ran a national business registry on an honor system for nearly two centuries. I wonder if the new verification process will actually be robust enough to stop sophisticated actors, or if it’ll just be another layer of bureaucracy that’s easy to game with digital loopholes.

It's always a bit jarring when the polished presentation doesn't quite match the balance sheet, isn't it? I wonder if this "model" is actually sustainable long-term, or just a very expensive facade. What do you all think?