{"id":960514,"date":"2026-05-15T01:36:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T01:36:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/960514\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T01:36:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T01:36:34","slug":"its-a-mugs-move-on-the-streets-of-ashton-in-makerfield-hours-after-it-was-thrust-into-a-political-firestorm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/960514\/","title":{"rendered":"‘It’s a mug’s move’: On the streets of Ashton-in-Makerfield hours after it was thrust into a political firestorm"},"content":{"rendered":"

Barely two hours and after it had been thrust into the political spotlight, the centre of Ashton-in-Makerfield looked pretty much the same. On a drizzly Gerard Street, dusk was falling on what looked like any typical Thursday in May.<\/p>\n

But something was stirring. Andy Burnham’s march on the top job in the Labour<\/a> Party had begun. And it was already dividing opinions on the streets of a constituency he hopes will eventually propel him to Downing Street.<\/p>\n

The Mayor of Greater Manchester had made it official, declaring he would run to be elected as the MP for the Makerfield seat, vacated earlier today by Labour MP Josh Simons.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> for the latest on Greater Manchester’s politics in our newsletter<\/strong><\/p>\n

It comes at a crunch time for the Labour party<\/a>, and British politics in general. In the wake of tumultuous local elections last week, Reform UK and the Green Party claimed swathes of Labour wards – and that was the case here in Wigan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On May 7, Nigel Farage’s Reform took 24 out of the 25 council seats being contested in the borough. Inside the Labour Party, the results were considered so disastrous they prompted more than 90 MPs to call for the Prime Minister\u2019s resignation.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Carl Waugh in Ashton-in-Makerfield<\/p>\n

Sir Keir Starmer has so far remained resolute that he will remain in his post – but that was rocked today by the resignation of health secretary Wes Streeting, who said it was \u2018clear the Prime Minister would not lead\u2019 the party into the next election.<\/p>\n

Amid the turmoil, this latest move by Burnham is seen by many as not just the first step on a route back to Parliament, but him throwing his hat into the ring for a possible Labour leadership contest.<\/p>\n

The Culcheth native served as MP for Leigh – just down the road – from 2001 to 2017. So what do they make of him in the heart of the neighbouring seat?<\/p>\n

\u2018Excellent\u2019 was 80-year-old Ed\u2019s reaction to the news that Burnham was standing. \u201cI want a certain Labour leader out, that\u2019s why. I have never voted Labour but I will this time. I think that\u2019s how we stop Reform.\u201d<\/p>\n

But he told the Manchester Evening News he had been surprised by outgoing MP Josh Simons’ decision to step down.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Reform UK and the Green Party claimed swathes of Labour wards on May 7<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was very proactive, and viewed very positively locally,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m surprised it was him that stood down. It\u2019s going to be close, definitely after the local results.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think people might see this as a bit more serious.”<\/p>\n

Asked about the rise of alternatives to the traditional big three parties, Julie Adams praised Burnham’s “good ethics”.<\/p>\n

She told the M.E.N.: “The reason Reform are popular, in my opinion, is because we have a massive immigration problem in Ashton<\/a>… It\u2019s an issue for us all. It might be that a politician who is more forthright on that can cut through.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAndy Burnham<\/a> is quite a forthright politician. If a seat is to be rescinded for him to challenge for leadership, that\u2019s a good thing.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Julie Adams<\/p>\n

\u201cHe went to school locally, and went from there to Cambridge. He has a very powerful voice, and good ethics. In view of the disarray in the government, we need change, and we need someone we can relate to – we can relate to Andy Burnham.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another local, Kieran, chimed in: “I hope he does stand.”<\/p>\n

Marching past, he added from under the hood of his anorak: \u201cI\u2019m a lifelong Labour supporter, I don\u2019t like Starmer, but I\u2019m not voting Reform.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheltering from the drizzle outside Wetherspoons is 54-year-old Carl Waugh.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Labour to start infighting now is not a good move,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had 16 years of Tory government – turning that around in less than two years is not achievable.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo have had four Prime Ministers in the last four years\u2026 Andy Burnham, is he going to get this seat? Around him is all Reform, they did really well in the local elections. So he\u2019s taking a bit of a risk. But it\u2019s the highest role in office so he\u2019s going to take the risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a Liverpool supporter, I know what Andy Burnham did for Scousers. I hope he gets the seat, but this cycle [of changing leaders] is starting now with Labour. I can\u2019t understand why they\u2019ve done it. And Reform have got in in the local councils. They\u2019re going to screw it all up.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Mayor of Greater Manchester had made it official, declaring he would run to be elected as the MP for the Makerfield seat<\/p>\n

\u201cI think if Andy gets in he\u2019ll do a good job because he\u2019s actually led something before. He\u2019s very respected and he\u2019s a man of the people. Keir Starmer, he\u2019s an intelligent man, but he\u2019s done a bit of flip flopping,\u201d he continued, saying that the decision by the NEC to block Burnham from standing in the Gorton<\/a> and Denton<\/a> by-election was \u2018out of order\u2019 and Starmer \u2018feathering his own nest\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou keep hearing people don\u2019t like [Starmer]. People didn\u2019t like Thatcher, you don\u2019t necessarily need to be liked to be a statesman, to speak coherently. Andy Burnham can do that. But I just see this cycle starting and it\u2019s not going to be good for Labour.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also sheltering from the rain further up the street were Chris, 53, and William, 39, who both declined to give their last names. Chris was sceptical of Burnham\u2019s bid.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

People take photographs of a betting company’s odds on contenders to be the next leader of the Labour party<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no socialists in the Labour Party left,\u201d he declared. \u201cThere\u2019s no left-wing politicians left in Parliament. And Nigel Farage and Reform are using working-class people against each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gesturing around at the high street, he continued: \u201cLook at what a mess politicians have made of Ashton in Makerfield.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis town has gone t***ts up,\u201d Ashton native William agreed. \u201cI\u2019ve never seen it looking and feeling so rough at night in 30 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there are much bigger social issues at play than just one man,\u201d Chris said. \u201cI don\u2019t know what difference Burnham would make.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPolitics isn\u2019t about the people any more, it\u2019s a career choice,\u201d he continued. \u201cHow many politicians would get into the job if it was minimum wage?\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Rodders<\/p>\n

Barry, 70, is walking his dog near the Gerard Centre. He\u2019s fed up of politics altogether.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t vote this time, they\u2019re all the same,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re all for their own self and their own pocket.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was going to vote Reform at the locals, but I\u2019m an animal lover,\u201d he said, gesturing at his Cocker Spaniel. \u201cHearing that Farage wants to bring back fox hunting really put me off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another man, who gave his name mysteriously as simply Rodders, said he thought Reform would do \u2018magnificently\u2019. \u201cThis has been a Labour town for 50, 60 years. I think it\u2019s a mug\u2019s move. I don\u2019t think Burnham has got a chance – not with the lads I speak to anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Andy Burnham with Keir Starmer and Ashton-under-Lyne MP Angela Rayner in happier times(Image: Paul Ellis\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n

The 68-year-old says it was the now-scrapped Clean Air Zone that put him off Andy Burnham. \u201cWhat do you want to do that for, in the middle of COVID, without asking your rank and file voters?<\/p>\n

\u201cBit of a sneaky job that. If Burnham thought he\u2019s got the Labour vote from 50 years ago, he is sadly mistaken.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s got to be Reform. We\u2019ve had enough of Labour round here,\u201d he continued. \u201c.I\u2019ve never had a job since Thatcher shut the pits so I\u2019ve had to work away from home.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t get work round here. No-one has done nothing for this little town. There used to be industry – there\u2019s more vape shops than anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Barely two hours and after it had been thrust into the political spotlight, the centre of Ashton-in-Makerfield looked…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":960515,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[8916,148775,748,393,4884,528,2465,285,16,15,1287],"class_list":{"0":"post-960514","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-andy-burnham","9":"tag-ashton-in-makerfield","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-labour-party","14":"tag-manchester","15":"tag-politics","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-wigan"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116576033404136842","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/960514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=960514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/960514\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/960515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=960514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=960514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=960514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}