Andy Burnham joins Labour’s Senedd election campaign

Twm Owen, Local Democracy Reporter

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has hit the Senedd election campaign trail in Gwent – and insisted he was doing so in support of Labour’s candidates.

The former cabinet minister, who quit Westminster shortly after his failure to win Labour’s 2015 leadership race, was blocked from seeking a return to Parliament earlier this year when the party’s ruling body banned him from standing as its candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election.

At the Senedd election Labour is tipped to be beaten to first place for the first time in the 27 years of the devolution era, as well as for the first time in a major election in Wales in 100 years, while in England it is bracing itself for potentially losing thousands of council seats as well as a continued struggle to reestablish itself in the Scottish Parliament.

Results from the various elections on Thursday, May 7 could heap further pressure on Keir Starmer’s premiership but the mayor, whose attempt to become an MP was seen as a first step of a leadership challenge, denied his whistle stop tour of South Wales was about his position within the party.

He said: “I’ve been 40 plus years as a member, 25 years, a quarter of a century as an elected politician, and at no point in those 25 years whenever elections are taking place anywhere in the country have I just been sat at home. So no is the answer to that. When Labour people are out fighting elections, I will fight with them always.”

Mr Burnham visited Swansea and Porthcawl on Thursday, April 30 before visiting his daughter, a student in Cardiff where he also campaigned that evening, ahead of a meeting with Labour candidates and council leader Dimitri Batrouni in Newport on Friday morning and then heading to the Big Pit mining museum in Blaenavon.

Only Labour councillors, and Torfaen MP Nick Thomas-Symonds, were in attendance and Mr Burnham filmed a campaign video with Sir Fynwy Torfaen Labour candidates Lynne Neagle and Anthony Hunt, in which he attacked Reform UK including local lead candidates former Conservative Senedd Member Laura Anne Jones and Stephen Senior who was also a local Conservative councillor.

Mr Burnham told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he is supportive of the work the Welsh Labour Government has done despite the challenges it faces with other parties critical of its record, and decades, in power.

“All I can say is I spend a lot of time in Wales, my daughter studies in Cardiff, I’ve been in and out of Cardiff a lot in recent years, I see the same changes happening there as we’re trying to bring about in Manchester,” said Mr Burnham.

“The Welsh Labour Government, I think I’m right in saying, put the International Conference Centre into Newport, that is a big economic generator. I see the change in north Wales as well. It’s not easy turning places around that were deindustrialised by the Tories, I know that as mayor of Greater Manchester, I probably know that as much as anybody else in this country, it is hard to turn around deindustrialisation but I see it happening here in Wales.

“I would just ask people to pause on it. The leaders of Reform were the arch Thatcherites, they were the ones who were applauding when Wales was deindustrialised, when the communities of South Wales were literally torn to pieces.”

‘Posing’

Mr Burnham also accused Reform of “posing” when it was put to him the party’s position is it is able to offer a change after 27 years of Labour in government: “Well they’re posing aren’t they? I mean people will have to make their own judgement and I’m just giving you what I feel to be true.

“The two Reform candidates here were ex-Tories, they are the new Thatcherites and they never stood up for Wales in the past and I don’t believe they will in the future.”

Asked if he wanted to return to Parliament Mr Burnham replied “I put myself forward earlier this year so obviously that answers that question.”

But he said he met with the Prime Minister recently, which he said was “proof” of him working with others and “supporting him and the government” .

Mr Burnham batted away questions on whether former deputy PM Angela Rayner or England’s health secretary Wes Streeting, could be leadership challengers to Mr Starmer, and said: “I know the media always want to go to those things but I have been out here travelling across South Wales for one reason only to support our Labour candidates”.

Asked if he thought a cabinet minister such as Mr Thomas-Symonds could temporarily take over as Prime Minister to clear the way for him to lead Labour at the next general election Mr Burnham started to answer, and said “I don’t think anyone’s putting themselves forward” before his minder stepped in and said they needed to leave.

Speculation

Mr Thomas-Symonds said Mr Starmer, who he will accompany to the European Political Community Summit in Armenia this weekend , “is doing a fantastic job” and dismissed speculation over his position and said: “There is no contest, there is no suggestion of a contest. Keir Starmer is the Prime Minister.”

He also said a “stand in prime minister” to allow Labour to find another leader for the next election was a non-starter: “The idea of having any kind of stand in for high office is absolutely not, but in any event we have a prime minister who is not even two years into his five year mandate”.

In response to Mr Burnham’s comments Reform Wales said: “The only party that can end Labour rule in Wales is Reform.”

Plaid Cymru, the Conservatives, the Green Party as well as the Open Party and the Heritage Party and two independent candidates are standing in Sir Fynwy Torfaen.