Andy Burnham will set out his pitch to become the next MP for Makerfield, in Greater Manchester, in his bid to make his way back into Parliament and potentially become Prime Minister.
The Mayor of Manchester will officially launch his campaign for the by-election today. He was confirmed as Labour’s candidate this week, for the crucial June 18 contest.
Burnham’s campaign back to the Commons had been widely seen as a step on the way to challenging Keir Starmer for the top job. Despite this, the Prime Minister has said he will be out campaigning in support of Burnham.
Burnham will take on Reform UK’s Robert Kenyon, a local plumber who contested the seat for the party in 2024.
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The Greater Manchester mayor said the by-election was a “clarion call for change”.
He called for change to the education and housing systems, saying the country needed the biggest programme of council house building since the Second World War.
Burnham also blasted the cost of travel in the UK and said the price of an anytime return to London from Wigan North Western was £364.
He told the crowd: “We need to use rail renationalisation to reduce those train fares and make them affordable to people again.” The mayor also called for changes to the care system.
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Andy Burnham set out his connections to the local community as he launched his campaign in Makerfield.
He said: “I love this place. But what I have inside is a burning sense of injustice that the proud communities of this place face a Westminster system that puts them at the bottom of the list when they should be at the top of the list.”
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Andy Burnham said hope was “in the air” as he launched his campaign for the Makerfield by-election.
At his campaign launch in the car park of a sports and social club in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Mr Burnham said: “This is not more of the same. This is a change by-election. Politics in this country, British politics, is tired.
“It needs a new script and over the next four weeks the people of Makerfield are going to write that script and it’s great that they’re going to get that chance.”
Burnham speaks during his campaign launch(Image: Getty Images)
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Burnham surrounded by supporters at his official launch(Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)
Crowd of supporters holding placards for Burnham(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Despite Burnham’s by-election campaign being widely seen as the mayor taking steps to challenge Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister has thrown his support behind Burnham.
Sir Keir said on Thursday he would go out campaigning in Makerfield, when asked if he would support his potential leadership rival.
He said: “Yes, and I’ve said to the whole Labour movement that I want everybody to be involved in the campaign, whatever other discussions are going on, it’s really important – that’s a straight fight between Labour and Reform.”
Sir Keir Starmer and Andy Burnham on April 13(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
Among those in attendance at Andy Burnham’s campaign launch for the Makerfield by-election are Labour MPs Jonathan Reynolds, Kim Johnson, Barry Gardiner, Ian Byrne, Chris Webb and Rebecca Long-Bailey.
Also showing their support are Liverpool metro mayor Steve Rotheram and interim leader of Welsh Labour Ken Skates.
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The Greater Manchester mayor will soon set out his pitch to the people of Makerfield ahead of the June 18 by-election.
Burnham will take on Reform UK’s Robert Kenyon, a local plumber who contested the seat for the party in 2024.
The Green Party meanwhile has reopened nominations for its candidate after Chris Kennedy dropped out some nine hours after being announced to be running for the party.
Election campaign posters in the window of Stubshaw Cross Community and Sports Club in Ashton-in-Makerfield(Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)