Politics Home | Burnham Vows To “End Trickle Down Economics” In By-Election Victory Speech

19 June 2026. Andy Burnham speaks to supporters after the Makerfield by-election in Ashton in Makerfield. (Alamy)

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“It is our last chance to change, but we’re going to take it, aren’t we? We are going to take that opportunity, and we are going to lay out a new path for Britain,” said Burnham, who secured his return to the House of Commons by winning over 50 per cent of the vote on Thursday.

“We have an opportunity to turn the tide to make the country feel like it’s working again, to make people see that politics can make a positive difference, to make people feel hope again.”

Burnham, who must now resign as Greater Manchester mayor to take up his role as MP, comfortably defeated his closest rival, the Reform UK candidate Rob Kenyon, by 20 percentage points.

The by-election in the northwest of England has widely been described as one of the most consequential in British political history, with Burnham now expected to launch a bid to replace Keir Starmer as prime minister.

PoliticsHome reported on Friday that he is expected to meet with Labour MPs in Westminster on Monday as he prepares his push to enter No 10.

Starmer had today insisted he would fight any leadership contest, warning that he would not simply “walk away” after being elected nearly two years ago.

In a speech to supporters, Burnham called for an economy that “works for everybody” and the end of “trickle-down economics”, saying he wanted to see the renationalisation of key industries and the use of public procurement to reindustrialise Britain.

“You have to respond to what people here are saying. You have to do something to make life more affordable, to put more money in people’s pockets, to give people more breathing space again, so that they can have a better life.

“That’s what people were saying, and we must respond to that.

“We need an economy that works for everybody, not a few in far-off places from here, but an economy that works for people right here.”

He continued: “We do need to bring down water bills, energy bills, rail fares, just as we brought down bus fares in Greater Manchester to make life more affordable for people.”

The former health secretary said he would apply a “Makerfield test” and that if policies did not work for his constituency, they could not work at all.

He called for an education system less “dominated by the university route”, and on immigration vowed to bring an end to “HMO Britain”, whereby communities are not given a proper say over asylum accommodation in their areas.

“It’s not fair that they think that they can just operate like that and not hear the call of people here, the decent people here who always will do the right thing, the compassionate thing, but not when it’s unfair in terms of the way places like this are treated.”