Andy Burnham has officially launched his campaign to win the Makerfield by-election, pledging to “take the fight as high up as I can possibly take it.”
Campaign Launch
The Manchester Mayor stated: “We’ve taken that fight for people here, and I will carry that fight forward if I am lucky enough to be elected as the MP for Makerfield. I’ll take that fight as high as I can possibly take it, and that’s the journey I’ve always been on, and it’s not a new journey for me, it’s the same journey, just in a different phase, and that’s what this is all about.”
Call for Electoral Reform
At his media campaign launch, Mr. Burnham announced he would push for changes to the electoral system in the next Labour manifesto. “I support electoral reform. Now, I know there’s different ways you can do it, but I believe any move in that direction is going to be good and I would want a commitment in the next Labour manifesto to introduce a proportional system,” he explained.
However, he clarified he would not change the system before the next election, adding: “I think you’ve got to honour manifestos.” The Labour Party member has previously called for the introduction of proportional representation.
Message to Labour Party
Mr. Burnham added: “I know my own party needs to change, we need to be better than we’ve been, we’ve not been good enough. And I want to leave people in no doubt today. A vote for me in this by-election campaign is a vote to change Labour. It is a vote to give the people here in these communities who supported us through the years... to give them the party back that they used to know. That is what this is a vote for: a party that is solidly, solidly on the side of working-class people and working-class communities.”
