Burnham Highlights National Political Crisis
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has expressed concern that national politics in Britain has reached a "dangerous place," where
"people in this country cannot afford a good life".
The Labour candidate for the upcoming Makerfield by-election, scheduled for Thursday 18 June, spoke to BBC Radio Manchester, asserting that Britain has been
"on the wrong path for 40 years".
Motivation for Parliamentary Return
During the interview, Burnham was asked why he might be stepping away from his role as mayor. He responded,
"I really believe that politics in this country is at a moment where we either change it or it really becomes quite, quite broken and people lose faith completely."
Burnham, aged 56, who previously held senior cabinet positions under Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, left Westminster politics in 2017. However, following the resignation of sitting Labour MP for Makerfield, Josh Simons, he announced his candidacy to rejoin the Parliamentary party.
He is widely anticipated to challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership and potentially become Prime Minister, contingent on securing voter support in Makerfield.
Goals for Greater Manchester and National Change
Burnham expressed pride in his achievements as Greater Manchester mayor but acknowledged the limitations of his current role. He stated,
"There's only so much I can do from this role."
He elaborated on his ambitions, saying,
"If I want life here to be what it should be for the people of the communities in the Makerfield constituency, but more broadly across all of Greater Manchester, I know we need to change politics at the national level so we can change the economy at the national level and just make it work for people, make it life more affordable for people."
Position on the European Union
Responding to listener questions about his stance on the European Union, an issue brought into focus after former Health Secretary and potential leadership contender Wes Streeting advocated for Britain to rejoin the EU, Burnham clarified his position.
He noted that although in September last year he expressed a desire to see Britain rejoin the EU
"in my lifetime,"he felt his views had been misrepresented by
"skewed" media coverage.
Burnham stated,
"Ten years on, I'm going to be really blunt; I don't think Brexit has improved things. The economy is smaller and we have weaker control of immigration. That is my view."
However, he emphasized that he has not advocated for refocusing efforts on rejoining the EU, adding,
"You know, we had a vote, we shouldn't keep re-running the arguments linked to that vote."
Instead, Burnham called for a concentrated effort on domestic priorities, saying,
"Let's get this country functioning again, let's get the basics right for people. Focus here, get things sorted out here. Let's not worry then about our relationship with other places until we fix our own situation."
Makerfield By-Election Candidates
To date, six parties have announced candidates for the Makerfield by-election.
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