Andy Burnham has announced his intention to stand in the Makerfield by-election but Reform vow to “throw everything at it”
Sat in the Sir Thomas Gerard pub in the centre of Ashton-in-Makerfield the prospect of Andy Burnham becoming their MP – and possibly PM -has locals divided.
Over an afternoon coffee, or pint, the talk is of whether the “Burnham effect” will be enough to hold off the threat of Reform. Disappointment in Keir Starmer’s government is clear, but so is Burnham’s popularity from his time as Greater Manchester Mayor.
He has announced his intention to stand in the Makerfield by-election, which was triggered by Josh Simons MP standing down – but faces a tough route back to parliament. Bookies make Burnham 4/6 favourite – but in the recent local elections Reform won 50.4% of the vote, with Labour trailing on just 22.7%.
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Burnham was dubbed ‘King of the North’ during the Covid pandemic for standing up against the government and fighting for more funding for Greater Manchester communities. People also fondly remember his time as MP in neighbouring Leigh – just down the road – from 2001 to 2017 when he stood up for local issues.
But it is clear he is taking a big risk in fighting in Makerfield, which had a 5,399 Labour majority in the last general election, with Reform coming in second.
In the pub John McDonald, who was enjoying an afternoon lunch with his friends, admitted switching from Labour to Reform – but said Burnham could tempt him back. He said: “If Keir Starmer was a football manager he would have been sacked by now. He promised change, but he went back on a lot.
“I think people will be backing Andy Burnham. I voted Reform last time, before that I voted Labour all my life, but after the way things have gone.
“But I could change my mind for Andy Burnham. There’s no-one else I’d give my vote to, he’s the only one who would change my mind. Labour have been at a low ebb, so I can understand why people voted Reform, but with Andy Burnham?”
His pal Bill Addison said: “I think he’s held in high regard for what he’s done for Manchester. I would think he’ll win, hands down. He’s one of the most honest politicians I’ve seen and I’d like to see him as PM.
“He’s got a massive job to do, a lot of people have written Labour off. But as locals you think if he’s our MP and PM, you hope he’ll look after us.”
While Mark Smyth said he was impressed after speaking to the mayor just a couple of weeks ago: “I was on the radio to Andy Burnham a couple of weeks ago. He does the phone in on the Mike Sweeney show.
“I’m a paramedic and I wanted to discuss ambulances queuing outside hospitals. He speaks good and he follows what he says up, he acts on it. He’s a good candidate.”
But he warned: “The one thing he has to be wary of is that 24 out of 25 wards around here went to Reform the other week. After what has happened over many years around here and across the country, Reform have played it well.”
Announcing he plans to stand, Burnham said: “I grew up in this area and have lived here for 25 years. I care deeply about it and its people. I know they have been let down by national politics.”
That feeling of being “let down” was evident as Labour suffered catastrophic losses in Wigan’s local elections with Reform winning 24 out of 25 seats up for grabs in the borough.
Outside in the afternoon sunshine on Gerard Street, Cath Jones said she wouldn’t be swayed by Burnham: “I’m voting for Reform. Once upon a time I voted for Labour, but when I saw the effects of that I changed my vote. Everything costs more now because the workers are paying for the shirkers. You have to pay more every day.
“Andy Burnham is not going to tempt me back. Labour always end up bankrupting the country. I won’t even swim in his canal in Aintree. Everyone is fed up with it all.”
While Brian Sherman said: “Burnham is only doing this because Reform gave them a drubbing. If he wins he can justify his position as the one who can beat Reform.
“But I don’t see it, Labour has become the party of the middle classes. They’re not bothered about places like this. Nothing has been spent around here. How many vape shops and barbers do we need in one town?
“People are fed up, Labour has run things around here for 20 odd years, they give to the affluent areas of Wigan but they don’t to the little towns.”
The path for Burnham to return to national politics – and potentially challenge Keir Starmer to become PM – is not straight forward.
He has already announced he wishes to stand as the candidate, with Labour’s NEC expected to rubber stamp that decision, after previously turning him down when he wanted to stand in Denton and Gorton.
After this he must win the seat, with Nigel Farage warning Reform will “throw everything at it”.
Should he win he would then be in a position to win the support of Labour MPs to challenge for the top job.
Starmer’s authority has been critically undermined in recent days after an angry response to the week’s local and devolved elections. Senior ministers West Streeting and Jess Phillips have quit the cabinet and about 100 MPs are calling for him to go.
In his pitch to stand in Makerfield and return to frontline national politics, Burnham posted on social media: “Ten years ago, I decided to leave Westminster. Why? Because, after 16 years, I came to the conclusion that our national political system does not work for areas like ours. I learnt this fighting its failure to invest in the Wigan borough, for justice for the Hillsborough families and against its treatment of Greater Manchester during the pandemic.
“Over the last decade, I have been challenging this failure from the outside and building a new and better way of doing politics. We have built Greater Manchester into the fastest-growing city-region in the UK and put buses back under public control, introducing a £2 fare cap to help people with cost-of-living pressures.
“However, there is only so much that can be done from Greater Manchester. Much bigger change is needed at a national level if everyday life is to be made more affordable again. This is why I now seek people’s support to return to Parliament: to bring the change we have brought to Greater Manchester to the whole of the UK and make politics work properly for people.
“Millions are struggling and they need the Labour Government to succeed. It has already made changes to make life better for them in its first two years. After this week, we owe it to people to come back together as a Labour movement, giving the Prime Minister and the Government the space and stability they need as the by-election takes place.”
He added: “I want to recognise the difficult decision taken by Josh Simons and the sacrifice he and his family are making. I have worked closely with him as Mayor on issues like flooding and illegal waste dumping and have seen first-hand how effective he has been. He has put the communities of Makerfield first, made a real difference for them and should take great pride in that.
“Finally, I truly do not take a single vote for granted and will work hard to regain the trust of people in the Makerfield constituency, many of whom have long supported our party but lost faith in recent times. We will change Labour for the better and make it a party you can believe in again.”