'Hope is in the air,' says Burnham at campaign launch
Andy Burnham has welcomed supporters at his campaign launch, expressing the significance of the moment to him.
“This means the world to me,” he said.
“Hope is in the air, can you feel it?”
“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.”
Burnham spoke about his strong ties to the local area, noting that his home is just two miles from the campaign venue.
“I love it so much that I brought my own family up here, I live here, I have lived here for 25 years,” he said. “My home is two miles over there. I could walk to this campaign centre.”
He addressed the challenges faced by the community, including poverty, rising living costs, and unemployment.
“We’ve had 40 years of policies that have hurt the high streets of this constituency, 40 years of policies that have left people struggling to afford the everyday basics of their lives. Policies that took away the good jobs that were once in these communities and have not done anything to replace them or put them back.”
Andy Burnham launches byelection campaign
Andy Burnham is speaking at the official launch of his campaign for the Makerfield byelection. Live updates and video coverage are available on the page (refresh may be required for the video).
According to PA, several MPs attended Burnham’s campaign launch, including Jonathan Reynolds, Kim Johnson, Barry Gardiner, Ian Byrne, Chris Webb, and Rebecca Long-Bailey.
Support also came from Liverpool metro mayor Steve Rotheram and interim leader of Welsh Labour Ken Skates.
While awaiting Burnham’s arrival at the official launch at Stubshaw Cross Community and Sports Club in Ashton-in-Makerfield, newswire photos from the venue have been shared.
UK borrows more than forecast in April as inflation adds to benefits bill
The UK borrowed more than expected in April 2026, as high inflation increased the cost of pensions and benefits amid concerns over the Iran war and political uncertainty, which have contributed to rising debt costs.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that public sector net borrowing—the difference between government spending and income—was £24.3bn in April 2026, which is £4.9bn higher than in April 2025.
Amid tensions over the Middle East conflict and a Labour leadership challenge, this figure exceeded forecasts by City economists and the Office for Budget Responsibility by £3.4bn.
Rising borrowing costs on financial markets pushed the UK’s debt interest payments to £10.3bn in April, £900m more than the previous year and the highest April figure on record.
Grant Fitzner, the ONS chief economist, said: “Borrowing this month was substantially higher than in April last year and although receipts increased compared with April 2025, this was more than offset by higher spending on benefits and other costs.”
Meanwhile, in Sweden, foreign secretary Yvette Cooper joined other officials at a NATO summit in Helsingborg.
Also attending the foreign ministers meeting were US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Ahead of the summit, officials expressed confusion over former US President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy 5,000 US troops to Poland after he had previously announced the move.
“It is confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told reporters.
US officials reportedly shared similar sentiments. One official told : “We just spent the better part of two weeks reacting to the first announcement. We don’t know what this means either.”
For further details, readers are directed to the Europe live blog for the latest updates.
Andy Burnham to launch Makerfield byelection campaign as Green candidate quits
Good morning and welcome to live coverage of UK politics.
Andy Burnham is set to officially launch his campaign as the Labour candidate in the Makerfield byelection this morning, aiming to return to parliament after nine years.
Also this morning, the Green Party reopened its candidate selection process for the byelection after Chris Kennedy withdrew as the party’s candidate.
Burnham’s official campaign launch is expected around 10:45am, although he has already been seen canvassing in the constituency this week.
He is widely anticipated to challenge Keir Starmer for Labour leadership if he regains a parliamentary seat. The Prime Minister has stated he will campaign in support of Burnham ahead of the vote on 18 June.
“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,” Starmer said.
Meanwhile, Chris Kennedy, the Green Party’s candidate for the byelection, withdrew nine hours after his announcement, citing “personal and family reasons.”
reported that Kennedy had been approached regarding a series of social media posts he shared about an attack on Jewish ambulances in north London in April. An Instagram video posted by Kennedy described the arrests of two men related to the incident as “total bullshit to keep the false flag flying.”
In other news, ’s business reporter highlighted that UK government borrowing reached its second-highest level for April on record, with a £24.3bn deficit last month, reflecting growing pressure on public finances. Further details are available in the business live blog.
