Andy Burnham has welcomed supporters at his campaign launch, telling them “this means the world to me”.
“Hope is in the air, can you feel it?” he said.
“This is not business as usual. This is not more of the same … 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.”
Here’s a list of the party candidates announced so far for the Makerfield byelection:
Andy Burnham (Labour)
Robert Kenyon (Reform UK)
Michael Winstanley (Conservative party)
Jake Austin (Liberal Democrats)
Rebecca Shepherd (Restore Britain)
Alan “Howlin” Laud Hope (Monster Raving Loony party)
The Greens had announced Chris Kennedy would stand for the party but he withdrew just nine hours later. The party said he dropped out for “personal. family reasons”, but the Times later reported it had approached Kennedy about a series of social media posts he had shared about an attack on Jewish ambulances in north London in April.
A Green party spokesperson said Kennedy apologised for the offence caused and has deleted the posts, according to the BBC.
Burnham said the government was “moving in the right direction” on immigration. after figures this week showed net migration to the UK fell by nearly 50%.
Commenting on plans for retrospective changes for those being granted indefinite leave to remain. he said: “I know there have been concerns raised by members of parliament on that issue. So, I have indicated broad support for what the home secretary is trying to do,. I do think on that issue care needs to be taken.”
His remarks came after the Guardian reported that he backed Shabana Mahmood’s controversial changes to the immigration system. according to his allies. Deputy political editor Jessica Elgot and policy editor Kiran Stacey wrote:
double quotation mark [Mahmood] set out a major package of changes earlier this year that included scrapping permanent refugee status. removing government support from asylum seekers who are deemed not to need it or who break the law. Anyone who has been granted asylum but whose country is then deemed to be safe will be asked to leave.
She also promised to double the length of time it takes for some people to achieve settled status in the UK from five years to 10. a measure which officials say will apply to many already in the country. That is due to come in later this year once the government has completed a consultation on. groups should be exempted from the longer timetable.
Some senior Labour MPs have criticised the changes as un-British and mimicking Donald Trump.
Burnham said he thought the NHS was “almost being overwhelmed” by a “broken” care system.
The Greater Manchester mayor. whose father has Alzheimer’s, said he believed there should be a different way of paying for care.
He said: “It’s a reverse of the NHS principle, social care, that the most unfortunate can just like lose everything,. it’s an awful thing.”
double quotation mark I know there’s a great resentment about inheritance tax, so actually just, you know, take that away, perhaps,. look at a care levy.
It’s not about asking people to pay more, it’s just people paying in the most unfair way possible at this moment in time. I think there’s a much better way of doing it, and people just have peace of mind while they’re alive, because they get the care that they need, and then it will be dealt with in a much better way.
double quotation mark Our hospitals are full of people who are medically fit to be at home or in a care home,. can’t be discharged.
The cost of that to the NHS, in my view, is getting bigger than the cost of fixing social care.
Actually, the NHS is almost being overwhelmed by a broken care system.
Burnham said the Labour manifesto presented in 2024 could be “more radical”.
He said he wanted to see more council houses being built. that Labour should “be more radical on rail re-nationalisation”.
PA has reported more of his remarks:
double quotation mark I’m personally keen to see reform of council tax. It’s a highly regressive tax, and I think it’s not justifiable based on those 1991 valuations. I see a big case for land and property and business taxation to be changed.
Asked about new guidance on single sex spaces, Andy Burnham said: “I think the time has come to take the Supreme Court ruling. the guidance and implement it, but to do it in a way that protects those spaces but does not marginalise already marginalised communities, that’s my view.
“My mum and dad brought me up to live and let live. I think Britain needs to get back to a more ‘live. let live’ approach to life, not where we’re constantly arguing with each other, being judgmental about each other.
“Lets implement the guidance, but to do it in the fairest and most compassionate way possible.”
He said he thought Britain had done too much of rerunning arguments. “We’ve got to stop arguing with each other. We’ve got to start by finding some common ground and start pulling together,” he added.
Speaking to the media at his campaign launch. Andy Burnham said he would want to commit to changing the electoral system in the next Labour manifesto.
double quotation mark I support electoral reform. Now, I know there’s different ways you can do it, but I believe any move in that direction is going to be good. I would want a commitment in the next Labour manifesto to introduce a proportional system.
He ruled out changing the system before the next election, saying:
double quotation mark I think you’ve got to honour manifestos.
A Green MP has announced she is to take a leave of absence after suffering “burnout”.
Carla Denyer. the party’s former co-leader, said she would be off work for several weeks in order to try to recover following advice her doctor.
The MP for Bristol Central said she had been struggling with “persistent health issues” over the last few years. that she hoped to “combat the stigma” surrounding burnout by being open about her experience.
Her constituency office will continue to function as usual over the coming weeks, she said.
In a statement on Friday, Denyer wrote:
double quotation mark Over the last few years, I have been struggling with persistent health issues,. I have been trying to manage these alongside the long hours and significant responsibility my work entails.
It has become clear that this is not an effective strategy. that doing so is inhibiting my ability to recover. Having taken advice from my doctor. I will be taking several weeks off in order to try to get back to full health.
I want to be open about the fact that what I am suffering from is burnout –. the mental and physical symptoms that arise from it.
Burnout is a condition that does not tend to get better on its own. If left unmanaged, it can worsen and increase your risk of long-term health problems.
Here are some photos from Andy Burnham’s official campaign launch earlier today:
In other news. the defence secretary, John Healey, has urged Nigel Farage to provide transparency about the £5m gift he received from a billionaire businessman, in particular over whether any of the sum could have been linked to Russia-connected profits, the Guardian’s senior political correspondent Peter Walker reports.
In a letter to the Reform UK leader. Healey also asked him to address the possibility that the war against Iran might boost the revenues of AML Global, an aviation fuel company owned by Christopher Harborne, who gave Farage the £5m in 2024. Farage initially supported the US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
The letter, seen by the Guardian, asked Farage to confirm that none of the sum was “derived from transactions with Russian state-linked energy companies”,. to give assurances that AML Global had complied fully with all sanctions on Russian energy since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Burnham has finished his speech. just as we get an announcement from the Liberal Democrats on their candidate for the Makerfield byelection.
Stockport councillor Jake Austin will stand for the party. He was born in the constituency. contested the Greater Manchester mayoral election against Burnham in 2024, coming sixth, according to PA.
double quotation mark I’m thrilled to have been selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Makerfield.
Voters in Makerfield deserve so much more than the failing Labour government or the divisive politics of Reform UK.
We have a real opportunity to champion the issues that matter most to people: the cost of living, protecting our natural environment. supporting our local high streets and businesses.
Continuing on the theme of change. Burnham said a vote for him in the Makerfield byelection is “a vote to change Labour”.
double quotation mark I know my own party needs to change. We need to be better than we’ve been. We’ve not been good enough. And I want to leave people in no doubt today. a vote for me in this byelection campaign is a vote to change Labour.
He hailed the successes of Greater Manchester and Liverpool since he left Westminster in 2017.
double quotation mark We’ve stood side by side, making the argument for something better for the north-west, through the devolved power that we have got. that we hold together.
And in those ten years we have built a new politics. We’ve worked on a place first basis, rather than party first. We’ve focused on problem solving rather than point scoring. And you know what? When you do that and you work differently, it’s amazing what you can achieve, isn’t it?
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