Andy Burnham says Makerfield by-election ‘not about me’ as he eyes Westminster return
In an exclusive interview, Andy Burnham says the Makerfield by-election is “not about me” as he sets out why he is prepared to leave his mayor role and return to Westminster to fight for overlooked communities.
Greater Manchester Mayor and parliamentary hopeful Andy Burnham says the the Makerfield by-election “is not all about me” and that putting a national focus on local issues is far more important.
In one of his first official interview since being selected as the Labour candidate for the seat vacated by Josh Simons, the former Leigh MP said he wanted to get back to Westminster to change politics for the better: especially for those communities like Makerfield’s whom he feels have been ignored for too long.
The location of Templeton Road in Platt Bridge was deliberately chosen for the conference as it was under water due to flooding in January of last year and Mr Burnham said it was emblematic of how communities like these had been ignored by the establishment.
There has been much talk of his wanting to re-enter Parliament in order mount a leadership challenge to Sir Keir Starmer because Labour’s popularity has slumped since the 2024 general election and the party performed abjectly in the recent local elections.
Asked why he was prepared to relinquish his mayoralty in a bid to return to Westminster, Mr Burnham was keen to focus on what he would achieve as a local MP should he win rather than what might happen after that.
He said: “We are here because we need to do something to change politics so that it works for the people of Platt Bridge, across the Makerfield constituency and for everybody.
“We have had a long period of time when the country has been run not in the best interests of the people here but often for the most well off. We have been on the wrong path.
“I was brought up in this area and the country took a long turn with de-industrialisation which had a huge impact, the deregulation of things like buses and privatisation of everyday utilities, making them more and more expensive. Then we had the austerity of the 2010s. It's the path we've been on and it hasn't been kind to places like this.
“I can only go so far with doing work in Greater Manchester but we can't go all the way without fundamental change, for instance putting some of the things back under public control that have been way too expensive.
"I have represented parts of this constituency when I was an MP before and I gave them a voice. I have since worked with Josh, especially on flooding matters locally - this street we are standing in now was under water 16 months ago.
"When I was last in Parliament the powers that be did not treat places like this as they should have. This should have been a priority for anti-flood funding and it should have had its resilience built up. It's like the illegal waste dump at Bickershaw that Josh has raised issues over and I have supported.
“Communities should not be pushed to one side. It needs people with influence fight for it.
“We need to get more influence from these communities and for the first time in my lifetime they are at the centre of national attention.
“All the political parties have to come up the M6 and say what they are going to do for these communities. That's the really good thing about this by-election.
"Then the people can judge what they are offering and which people will give these places a louder voice. If that's what this by-election is all about that's a really good thing.”
On his career trajectory, he said: “My journey has been consistent. I have done my best to fight for people here as MP for Leigh but like Josh I found how hard it was to get the establishment wasn't listening to places like here.
"You could make as many speeches as you liked in Parliament but voices were going into a void.
"I came to the conclusion that the system doesn't for people here and the economy doesn't work for people here.”
He said there was only so much he could do as Mayor too...which is why he was standing for Parliament in the hope of bring his experience from his time as Mayor to Westminster.
He added: “If the people give me that power by backing me in this by-election then I will take that power down the M6 to change politics to make things better for people in Platt Bridge and other communities.”
Mr Burnham knows that the June 18 result is anything but a foregone conclusion and says he has never taken any election that he have entered for granted.
And he added: “People will want to make it all about me but it's not but it's about people's lives.
"I am just glad that people are talking about Makerfield for once and people like Mr Farage, who swept into town this week, are coming up here to discuss local issues.
"It's a good thing that people at that level and are being forced to come here and engage.”
He said that his campaign was also about changing Labour, saying people hadn’t left the party, but it was the other way round.
As for Mr Simons, he is keeping his cards to his chest as far as any future political ambitions are concerned.
He said that his focus at present was fully backing Mr Burnham’s campaign and thereafter having some downtime with his family.
However he did rule himself out of standing in a Greater Manchester mayoral election if Mr Burnham won the by-election and had to step down.
This story was originally published by wigantoday.co.uk - you can read the article here
The candidates announced so far are:
- Andy Burnham (Labour),
- Robert Kenyon (Reform UK),
- Rebecca Shepherd (Restore Britain),
- Alan “Howlin” Laud Hope (Monster Raving Loony Party),
- Michael Winstanley (Conservative)