'British politics needs a new script': Burnham launches Makerfield campaign with pledge to change Labour

Andy Burnham has vowed to deliver a "new script" in British politics as he officially launched his Makerfield by-election campaign on Friday, pitching the contest as a chance to "change Labour."

Speaking at a community and sports club in the constituency in front of Labour activists and politicians, Burnham insisted his bid to return to Parliament would not be "business as usual."

"This is a change by-election," he said. "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."

He added: "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."

What did Burnham say about Labour?

Burnham was direct about his party's problems. "A vote for me in this by-election is a vote to change Labour," he said. "I know my own party needs to change. We need to be better than we have been."

He promised voters in Makerfield they would get "the party back they used to know," one "solidly on the side of working class people and working class communities," following Reform UK's sweeping success in the area at the local elections.

How did he pitch himself locally?

Burnham was keen to emphasise his roots, telling the crowd he has lived in the area for 25 years, that his home is two miles from the campaign centre, and that his three children went to a local school in Ashton.

He reminisced about getting his first coach to an Everton away game without his dad in 1984.

What policies did he outline?

Burnham called for the biggest programme of council house building since the Second World War, changes to the education system, and using train renationalisation to reduce fares.

What about the leadership?

While the event was the official launch of his Makerfield campaign, it could also serve as his bid to lead the Labour Party upon his return to Westminster. Allies have suggested he may not launch a leadership challenge immediately if he wins on June 18.

Regardless, Sir Keir Starmer has said he will be out campaigning for Burnham. "I've said to the whole Labour movement that I want everybody to be involved in the campaign," the PM told reporters. "Whatever other discussions are going on, it's really important. That's a straight fight between Labour and Reform."

Who is Burnham up against?

Reform UK's candidate is Robert Kenyon, a local plumber who said he is "ready to take on the King of the North." When Kenyon stood as a Reform candidate at the 2024 general election, Searchlight magazine reported that he was Facebook friends with Gary Raikes, the neo-fascist founder of the New British Union. The Independent understands the page was a political page rather than a personal one.

The Green Party's initial candidate, Chris Kennedy, withdrew hours after selection. It later emerged he had shared social media posts describing an attack on Jewish ambulances in north London as a "false flag."

Former MP Josh Simons won the seat in 2024 with a majority of just 5,399, and Reform comfortably won every ward in the constituency at this month's local elections.