Erewash MP Adam Thompson: “Why I’m backing Andy Burnham.”

Erewash MP Adam Thompson

Erewash MP Adam Thompson has issued a statement saying why he is in support of Andy Burnham succeeding Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister.

“At every general election since the Erewash constituency was created in 1983, voters here have chosen the winning party and elected a government MP. For more than forty years, the path to power in this country has always run through Erewash.

“Yet in that time, the places we love have been left behind. Good jobs went away, our high streets have emptied out, and austerity left our public services and infrastructure in tatters. In 2024, people in Erewash voted for change, and they meant it.

“There is a part of the United Kingdom where the change Erewash needs is already being made – where the economy has grown fast, and good new jobs are being created all the time. Young people choose to stay, rather than move elsewhere in search of opportunity.

“Buses are cheaper, higher quality, and under local control, so that they serve people rather than shareholders. That’s not just growth measured in shiny skyscrapers, either – the roads have fewer potholes and bin collections are more efficient. As Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017, Andy Burnham has achieved all of this.

“What struck me when I went to knock doors in Makerfield was that people spoke about Andy like they knew him. Because, in some sense, they did. An ordinary, working-class man who grew up in the area, started his family there and sent his kids to local schools.

“He’d helped them with casework, and he’d changed Manchester, from post-industrial northern city to burgeoning economic powerhouse. They knew that Andy was on their side – someone who understood their lives and their concerns, because he had lived them. Rather than fear and division, what Andy offered was hope.

“The other thing I’ll say about Makerfield, is that it didn’t seem alien to me. It’s a long drive away, but it’s England. There was lingering evidence of by-gone industrial greatness, like in Ilkeston. They were doing big, long-delayed works on the high street in Ashton, just like in Long Eaton.

“As I went to different parts of the constituency, they reminded me of Cotmanhay, and of Fields Farm, and of Sandiacre. That gives me hope that Andy understands not just what people need in Greater Manchester, but what we need here in Derbyshire too, and that hope is why I’ll be supporting Andy Burnham to be our next Prime Minister.”