Drakeford leads Welsh Labour team campaigning to get Andy Burnham back in Westminster

Martin Shipton

Former First Minister Mark Drakeford will this week lead a group of Welsh Labour activists campaigning for Andy Burnham in the Makerfield by-election.

Mr Drakeford plans to address party members, including former Members of the Senedd, ahead of door knocking, outlining how Burnham’s campaign to be a strong local voice for the constituency could benefit communities across the UK.

The former FM supports Burnham’s message that power and wealth in the UK are overly concentrated in the south east of England, leaving working-class communities such as Makerfield feeling overlooked and undervalued.

He believes that having a powerful voice like Burnham in Parliament, championing the rebalancing of Britain and advocating for greater investment and decision-making power in places like Makerfield, will also bring benefits to Wales.

Mr Drakeford said: “In his campaign to ensure that the voices of voters in Makerfield are heard, Andy is in fact speaking up for all of us. He is a formidable champion for rebalancing Britain and for bringing services and resources back into public control.

“It is easy to see how this approach will benefit Makerfield, but it will also benefit Wales. I have spent my entire career arguing that giving power back to people is the best route to building a fairer, more prosperous economy.

“Andy has already demonstrated this in his capacity as Mayor of Greater Manchester. His reversal of bus deregulation saw, for the first time since the 1980s, bus routes designed around the needs of communities rather than company profits.

“We need voices like Andy’s in Parliament. That is why I am heading there to do my bit to help him get elected.”

Mr Drakeford also stressed the importance of the by-election in preventing Reform UK from gaining ground, highlighting concerns about the influence of wealthy donors connected to its leadership.

He added: “The contrast between Andy Burnham’s people-powered approach and the nonchalant way Nigel Farage justifies a £5m personal gift from a crypto billionaire is clear for all to see.”

The latest opinion poll on voting intention in the by-election saw Burnham on 49%, 10 points ahead of Reform UK candidate Robert Kenyon on 39%.

In third place is Restore Britain’s Rebecca Shepherd on 8%, while Sarah Wakefield of the Green Party is on 2%, with the Liberal Democrats’ Jake Austin and Conservative candidate Michael Winstanley both on 1%.

Polling takes place on June 18, with Burnham having confirmed last week that he will mount a Labour leadership challenge to Keir Starmer if he wins the by-election and returns to Parliament.