She added: “But there’s a serious point, isn’t it? If you are saying that you want to be a globally competitive city that has a growing economy and delivers for your residents, then you’ve also got to put your grown-up shoes on.
“And when people come to town, you’ve got to make sure that you’re hosting world leaders in a way that reflects the U.K. in a professional and serious way.”
‘Cool, calm heads’
Craig, who grew up in Northern Ireland, was pressed on Trump’s incendiary recent call for Irish reunification. She urged caution on the issue — but declined to say if she would give her message to the U.S president directly at the G20.
“I don’t think the mayor of Greater Manchester’s got that democratic mandate to tell the president of the U.S. what her thoughts and feelings are about the place that she grew up,” Craig said. But she stressed that the Good Friday Agreement “gives peace and let communities begin to thrive.” And she called for “cool, calm heads” to avoid stoking fresh tensions.
Craig met Mamdani in the U.S. earlier this month at a meeting of the Urban20, which brings together mayors from G20 countries. She told POLITICO that she spent time in New York handing out coffee machines to people moving into new affordable apartment blocks.
“The serious work that we’re doing there is that the challenges are the same in most major cities across the world around affordability,” Craig said. “There is a great role that progressive mayors around the world can play in helping shift the tone in national politics to show what can happen when you actually get stuff done.”