Andy Burnham says mass renationalisation would be at the centre of his policy platform

Labour Party leadership hopeful Andy Burnham has said that a programme of mass renationalisation, which would include energy and water, would be at the centre of his policy programme.

It comes as Burnham made clear his intention to stand for the Makerfield by-election which was triggered after Josh Simons decided to resign to make way for Burnham in order to give him a potential route back to Westminster.

After a difficult set of local election results, there has been intense speculation over the future of Labour leader Keir Starmer, with close to 100 Labour MPs calling for him to resign or set out a timetable for his departure.

In a further blow, Wes Streeting resigned from the government saying he had lost faith in Starmer’s leadership and called for a broad contest with the best possible field of candidates, which was seen as a nod to delaying a contest to allow Burnham to be a part of any leadership race.

The Mayor of Greater Manchester still faces a number of hurdles, including winning the by-election, with Reform performing strongly in the area at the most recent local elections.

Burnham has sought to chart out a new direction for the party. Speaking to Channel 4 News, Burnham said the “deindustrialisation and privatisation” of Britain had left areas like Makerfield “without good jobs and people unable to afford the basics.”

He said: “We need a different path completely. What is that path? Put more things back under stronger public control: energy, housing, water, transport.

“I’ve done that with buses in Greater Manchester. I was the first to do it. Margaret Thatcher deregulated them … and then they just work for the private shareholders and not for the paying public.

“I put them back under public control with the £2 fares, so you take that principle and apply it to energy and apply to the water – that’s what I think we need to do.

“The country gave away its control with basic things that people depend upon every day and that was a big mistake in my opinion.”