Andy Burnham has criticised what he described as the 'bankruptcy' of Labour's approach to campaigning, a week after the party lost the previously safe seat of Gorton and Denton. The Greater Manchester mayor, speaking at the British Library, said the defeat revealed the full depth of the chasm between people and Westminster politics.
Labour lost the Manchester constituency to the Green party, with Reform UK coming second and Labour third. Burnham's ally, deputy leader Lucy Powell, claimed he would have won the contest had he been allowed to stand, but Starmer and his allies blocked his candidacy.
Burnham described polling that found a majority of people think the cost of living crisis will never end as 'code red for Westminster politics'. He called for change in the political system and culture, warning the situation is 'getting extremely dangerous'.
In his speech, Burnham launched a withering attack on Whitehall, accusing it of refusing to devolve power and holding back growth in regions like the north of England. He outlined his vision of 'Manchesterism', which he contrasted with 'Westminsterism'.
He also expressed frustration at the central government's resistance to further devolution, saying that after 10 years, Whitehall still refuses to let go. 'We need Whitehall reform but we also need Westminster reform,' he added.
