A win will be a very big step to seizing back the Red Wall...
Burnham backs Wakefield victory
LABOUR heavyweight Andy Burnham toasts the party’s candidate in the Wakefield by-election, hoping he can help rebuild the Red Wall.
On Thursday, Labour wants to take the seat it held for 90 years before it went to Tory Imran Ahmad Khan in 2019.
Speaking exclusively to the Mirror on his first day of campaigning with Simon Lightwood, Mr Burnham said a win would be “a very big step” in winning back the Red Wall.
He said: “This is an important by-election for the north of England as it will signal how people feel here. They’ve been let down on levelling up. “This is an opportunity for the people of Wakefield to speak for the North and say, ‘You can’t come here and promise things and take us for mugs’. “I hope the people of Wakefield send a message to Boris and say, We’re not fooled.” Still the bookies’ favourite to become the next Labour leader, Mayor of Greater Manchester Mr Burnham said Keir Starmer must set out his big vision for the Labour Party before conference season in the autumn. He said: “It’s the next phase now. I think Labour should fight the next election, as the party of real levelling-up.” Mr Burnham, who was the MP for the Red Wall seat of Leigh for 15 years, has no doubt that the country is now ready for Mr Starmer’s leadership.
He said: “This government cannot be allowed to think they can continue as they are. It’s a clown show at times. “Seriousness is the issue, isn’t it? “Keir brings that seriousness. And that’s what we need to get back to. We’re not taking anything for granted.”
The by-election, triggered after Khan was found guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage boy, marks a key test for Mr Starmer as Labour try to overturn the Tory majority of 3,358. For Mr Burnham, the biggest issue is helping people with the cost-of-living crisis.
He said: “You’ve got Labour mayors across the North that are making real changes for people.”
Candidate Mr Lightwood has vowed to deliver cheaper bus fares, save a local NHS walk-in health centre, and get more police out on the streets to tackle anti-social behaviour.
He told the Mirror he was “completely focused” on what he had heard on the doorsteps during campaigning. He said: “It’s these very conversations that have formed my policies.”