Andy Burnham Says He Would Enter Labour Leadership Contest
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What happened during the Makerfield by-election televised debate?
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Chris, shall we explain the slightly jigsaw nature of this latest episode of Newscast? Well, help me out. Oh, yeah, because you don't actually know. No, and also, you are something of a jigsaw aficionado, aren't you? Oh, in the era when we all had less to do. Oh, no. No, it's hard to find the time. Can't you get like a 50-piece one or something? I've developed a far too small. I still want a challenge. Anyway, the challenge in tonight's episode, which we're recording on Thursday evening, is that the first half we're recording now, and you will hear me and Chris talking about the Question Time by-election special that came from Makerfield. and we'll play some clips from that. And then the second half will be what me and Chris recorded earlier on on Thursday, which is our regular look back at events of the week with Alex Osyth and Faisal Islam, which was broadcast on BBC One, ironically, after Question Time.
But recorded before Question Time.
What did Andy Burnham say about his ambitions for Labour leadership?
Yeah, but we'll play out in the right order now. I see what you mean about the jigsaw. Yes, exactly. That was a three-piece jigsaw. Right. Good luck with the 2,000-piece one. Thinking about it like a panto helped.
Do we play music now or what do we do?
Hello, it's Adam in the Newscast studio. And it is Chris at Westminster. And in case you didn't follow my convoluted explanation, we're recording this half of Newscast on Thursday evening, and it's just about 10.30. And this evening, Chris and I have been glued to our TV screens because Fiona Bruce was in Makerfield hosting a classic format of Question Time. but in a non-classic way because the panel was made up of five candidates in the Makerfield by-election. There was Andy Burnham for Labour, Robert Kenyon for Reform UK, Michael Winstanley for the Conservatives, Jake Austin for the Liberal Democrats and Sarah Wakefield for the Green Party. And Chris, the first sort of 20 minutes of the programme was just all on one question about Labour.
How did other candidates respond to Andy Burnham's comments?
How can how could they restore trust in politicians? Yes. And therefore ended up being dominated by two themes. Firstly, the most obvious theme, because you can see it from the International Space Station, which is why is this by election happening? And Andy Burnham's ambitions and the future of the Labour Party and who might be the next prime minister, etc., etc. ? and the extent to which that is either a noble thing to do or causing a by-election unnecessarily. And there was a fair smattering of arguments in both directions there. And then for his principal rival in this contest, which is Robert Kenyon and Reform UK, the whole slew of questions that have been, that we were talking about on the last edition of By-Election Cast, after my conversation with Mr Kenyon the other day,
kind of social media posting history and, you know, what that says about him as a character. And then towards the end of that section, Andy Burnham then confirmed something that basically everyone knew, but he'd never actually said before, which is that if he wins in Makerfield, he would join a contest to succeed Keir Starmer as prime minister.
I'm not somebody who gets ahead of myself. I can't do anything unless I'm lucky enough to get the support of people here. But if I get your support, I would seek to represent you at the highest possible level and give this constituency maximum power and influence.
I think Wes Streeting seems to have launched a leadership contest.
What are the implications of the murder of Henry Nowak on political discourse?
So if that is running, I would seek to join it. But I'd have to persuade members of the Parliament to lay the party to do the same.
So that's the only stance there.
So, yeah, Chris, there we go. Yeah. So, look, how should we tease that apart? I mean, look, you know, Fiona Bruce wasn't in Ashton in Makerfield because the dart in the Question Time office had just happened at random to hit Ashton rather than Devizes or Dundee or Carlisle or Ipswich. Look, clearly, obviously, Andy Burnham has ambitions. But he's been pretty coy, hasn't he, in public about those in the last couple of weeks.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What happened during the Makerfield by-election televised debate?
0:00–1:20
2
What did Andy Burnham say about his ambitions for Labour leadership?
1:20–2:31
3
How did other candidates respond to Andy Burnham's comments?
2:31–4:01
4
What are the implications of the murder of Henry Nowak on political discourse?
4:01–5:20
5
How did the candidates address the issue of trust in politicians?
5:20–7:03
6
What were the audience's reactions to the candidates' performances?
7:03–8:16
7
What are the major news stories impacting the political landscape this week?
8:16–9:08
8
How do the discussions in this episode reflect current UK political tensions?
9:08–55:19