Former Westminster insider turned Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham appears set on portraying himself as a man-of-the-people economic populist fighting for working-class interests against the legacy of Margaret Thatcher in the upcoming special election, which may determine the political landscape in Britain for years to come.
Burnham, a Cambridge University graduate and veteran of both the Tony Blair and Gordon Brown governments, has spent the past decade crafting his image as the so-called “King in the North” and distancing himself from the political establishment in London, despite having operated in its swamps for much of his career.
Now, with the whiff of weakness from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Burnham is seeking to parachute himself into Parliament once again to challenge for the top job and abandon his post as Mayor of Greater Manchester, after being gifted a clear runway to represent Makerfield by anti-Breitbart censorship stooge Josh Simons, purely out of the goodness of his heart and not craven career engineering, to be sure.
The potential leadership rival has staked out his position to the left of Prime Minister Starmer, advocating sensible socialist policies, including greater state control of critical sectors such as energy, housing, and water infrastructure.
On the first full day of campaigning for the open Commons seat, Burnham cast himself in opposition to the legacy of former Conservative PM Margaret Thatcher, which he described as “the deindustrialisation, the draining away of economic, social and political power” from working-class regions like Manchester.
Although it is true that Thatcher remains a controversial figure in many former industrial strongholds, the globalisation that hollowed out such areas was in large part a result of the UK’s membership of the European Union, which Burnham has long advocated rejoining. This may prove controversial in the Makerfield constituency, which overwhelmingly voted to leave the EU in the 2016 Brexit referendum.
It is also unclear if Burnham will be able to meaningfully tie Nigel Farage’s Reform UK to the legacy of Thatcherism, given that the Brexit leader differed with the former PM on EU membership, has increasingly called for government intervention to protect critical industries, such as steel production from the Communist Chinese. Mr Farage has even previously told Breitbart News the Thatcherism era is long over, saying:
Thatcherite is irrelevant. It’s half a century old…. What I do think has happened over the last few decades is the power of the big corporate companies has got bigger and bigger. Capitalism is dead, it doesn’t exist, we’re living in corporatism. An unholy alliance of big business, big banks, and big government… I genuinely think we won’t get economic growth if the country is dominated by six giant multinationals, none of whom pay tax on-shore.
Reform will also likely seize on the issue of mass migration, which began in earnest under the Blair and Brown governments that Burnham served in. Mr Farage has branded the Manchester Mayor as “Open Borders Burnham” over his desire to rejoin the EU and thus reinstate the ability of 500 million people to migrate to Britain.
However, it may be the contrast with his actual opponent in the Makerfield by-election that will truly expose the shallow depths of Burnham’s credibility as a man of the people.
On Tuesday, Reform announced that its candidate in next month’s election will be former Army reservist and self-employed plumber Robert Kenyon, who previously ran for the seat, coming in second-place during the 2024 general election to the now outgoing Labour MP Josh Simons.
The party has characterised the race as a “David vs Goliath” battle between the Makerfield local Kenyon and the Westminster elite Burnham.
“Makerfield has never had a member of Parliament who was actually born in Makerfield. This will be a tough fight, but I am going to give this contest my best shot,” the Reform candidate said.
“For Andy Burnham, Makerfield will be a stepping stone, but for me it’s the only place I’ve ever wanted to represent,” Kenyon added.
With the race potentially set to determine whether Prime Minister Starmer’s chief rival can actually contest his leadership, the race is set to become one of the most significant by-elections in British history.
Adding to the drama, it is currently unclear who has the edge in the election. Although under broader national circumstances Reform would likely have the edge, Burnham’s strong local profile in Manchester has been weighted by some pollsters to amount to an upwards of a 20-point jump over an average Labour candidate.
Paradoxically, a vote for Burnham as a Labour candidate would also be a vote against Prime Minister Starmer, meaning the Mayor may enjoy some tactical voting from the right in his favour just to spite the current government. However, this also means the Prime Minister will likely not be eager to campaign for his potential replacement.
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