Makerfield By-Election: Candidates Clash on Hospital and Green Belt

With just one week remaining until the Makerfield by-election, five parliamentary hopefuls faced questions from students and residents during a hustings event at Winstanley College. The Manchester Evening News hosted the session, which saw Jake Austin (Liberal Democrat), Andy Burnham (Labour), Rob Kenyon (Reform UK), Sarah Wakefield (Green), and Michael Winstanley (Conservative) grilled for over an hour on topics ranging from their political inspirations to immigration.

Healthcare and Hospital Plans

In his opening remarks, Rob Kenyon unveiled a radical plan for healthcare in the borough. He stated, “I plan to start a campaign for a new hospital for Wigan. At the current site, it can’t expand any further out, it can’t expand any further up. Anyone who’s been to A&E will tell you how bad it is for parking. I think it’s time we pressed the government for a new hospital. However difficult it may be, let’s start a campaign.”

Green Belt and Housing Development

Mr Kenyon, who was recently elected to Wigan council, also pledged to ‘protect the green belt’. He referenced controversial plans to restore Winstanley Hall, which would result in 400 homes being built nearby on green land. He said, “Look at Winstanley Hall, you’ve got people who live on Springpool with that lovely view which will be trashed if they decide to build on it.” Among his other local priorities were to ‘sort the high streets out’ to stop ‘HMOs being dumped on us in Wigan’ and he voiced support for scrapping net-zero policies.

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Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham took a swipe at Wigan council over recent planning decisions, particularly the notorious ‘cruise ship’ warehouses in nearby Astley, which have been completed close to homes. Responding to a question about the warehouses, he said, “The borough has not always got the balance right when it comes to planning and regeneration. You mention the Astley situation. More broadly, it’s been a case of going to the green sites first, and the problem with that is it doesn’t deliver homes which people can actually afford and you lose that green space. I would like to see Wigan borough take on board what we’ve done elsewhere in Greater Manchester where you go to the local centres first, the town centres, where you build at higher density in those places, connected to public transport so you are building for that rather than the car. Stockport has been a prime example of that change. Farnworth has done it as well, and we have Middleton and Bolton mayoral development corporations. It’s time for Wigan to adopt this more.”

Flood Prevention and Youth Facilities

Mr Burnham also pledged to prioritise flood prevention measures in the constituency and to bring a ‘youth zone’ complex to Ashton.

Conservative Candidate's Local Focus

Conservative candidate Michael Winstanley highlighted his strong ties to the area, having served as a local councillor and former Mayor of Wigan. He said, “I care passionately about Makerfield and its communities. It’s about having a clear plan. The regeneration of our high streets, cracking down on crime and anti-social behaviour, relieving the congestion across the constituency, and making sure we protect our greenbelt.”

Electoral Reform and Cost of Living

Liberal Democrat candidate Jake Austin expressed support for changing the voting system. He said, “This by-election is a really great example of how people often feel they have to vote for the lesser of two evils in an election. Whether that’s voting to stop reform or voting to stop Andy potentially becoming Prime Minister, there is no real choice to go out and vote for the candidate you actually agree with the most. If we aim to restore trust in politics, we need people to feel that their vote will actually count for something.”

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Green candidate Sarah Wakefield addressed the cost of living crisis affecting Makerfield voters. She said the Greens would concentrate on ‘how to get money in people’s pockets’, adding, “We need caps on energy bills and have a policy of universal free school meals and rent controls. But that will only help us in the short term. We believe energy and water companies should be nationalised. The big bonuses going into the pockets of the bosses are going back into bringing bills down and making our grid better. Our villages and towns are feeling weak compared to our big cities; we need to revitalise our high streets. Allow young people to stay here and not feel like they have to move away.”