The parliamentary hopefuls faced questions at a hustings at Winstanley College
The M.E.N’s Makerfield by-election hustings(Image: M.E.N.)
With a week to go before the Makerfield by-election, five of the candidates faced questions from students and residents at Winstanley College.
The Manchester Evening News hustings event saw the Jake Austin (Lib Dem), Andy Burnham (Labour), Rob Kenyon (Reform UK), Sarah Wakefield (Green) and Michael Winstanley (Conservative) grilled for more than an hour on multiple topics ranging from their political inspirations to immigration.
Here we examine what the candidates said about the pressing local issues within the Makerfield constituency.
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In his opening remarks Rob Kenyon called revealed a radical plan for healthcare in the borough.
He said: “I plan to start a campaign for a new hospital for Wigan.
“At the current site it can’t expand any further out, it can’t expand any further up. “Anyone who’s been to A&E will tell you how bad it is for parking.
“I think it’s time we pressed the government for a new hospital. “However difficult it may be, let’s start a campaign.”
Mr Kenyon, who last month was elected to Wigan council, also pledged to ‘protect the green belt’ and referred to controversial plans to restore Winstanley Hall, which would also result in 400 homes being built nearby on green land.
He said: “Look at Winstanley Hall, you’ve got people who live on Springpool with that lovely view which will be trashed if they decide to build on it.”
Among his other local priorities were to ‘sort the high streets out’ to stop ‘HMOs being dumped on us in Wigan’ and he said he’d support scrapping net-zero policies.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, took a swipe at Wigan council over recent planning decisions, referring in particular to the notorious ‘cruise ship’ warehouses in nearby Astley, which have been completed close to homes.
Replying to a question mentioning the warehouses, he said: “The borough has not always got the balance right when it comes to planning and regeneration. You mention the Astley situation.
“More broadly it’s been a case of going to the green sites first and the problem with that is it doesn’t deliver homes which people can actually afford and you lose that green space.
“I would like to see Wigan borough take on board what we’ve done elsewhere in Greater Manchester where you go to the local centres first, the town centres, where you build at higher density in those places, connected to public transport so you are building for that rather than the car.
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“Stockport has been a prime example of that change. Farnworth has done it as well and we have Middleton and Bolton mayoral development corporations. “It’s time for Wigan to adopt this more.”
He also pledged to prioritise flood prevention measures in the constituency and to bring a ‘youth zone’ complex to Ashton.
Conservative candidate Michael Winstanley focused on his strong links to the area, he was a local councillor and a former Mayor of Wigan
He said: “I care passionately about Makerfield and its communities. “It’s about having a clear plan.
“The regeneration of our high streets, cracking down on crime and anti-social behaviour, relieving the congestion across the constituency and making sure we protect out greenbelt.”
Among the issues Liberal Democrat candidate Jake Austin said he would support was a change in the voting system as a whole.
He said: “This by-election is a really great example of how people often feel they have to vote for the lesser of two evils in an election.
“Whether that’s voting to stop reform or voting to stop Andy potentially becoming Prime Minister, there is no real choice to go out and vote for the candidate you actually agree with the most.
“If we aim to restore trust in politics we need people to feel that their vote will actually count for something.”
Green candidate Sarah Wakefield spoke on the cost of living crisis affecting the Makerfield electorate.
She said Greens would concentrate on ‘how to get money in people’s pockets, adding: “We need caps on energy bills and have a policy of universal free school meals ad rent controls. “But that will only help us in the short term.
“We believe energy and water companies should be nationalised. “The big bonuses going into the pockets of the bosses are going back into bringing bills down and making our grid better.
“Our villages and towns are feeling weak compared to our big cities, we need to revitalise out high streets.
“Allow young people to stay here and not feel like they have to move away.”
Full list of candidates standing in the Makerfield by-election
- Jake Austin – Liberal Democrats
- Count Binface – Count Binface Party
- Andy Burnham – Labour and Co-operative Party
- Dan Clarke – Libertarian Party
- John Dyer – Independent
- Ed Gemmell – Climate Party
- Paul Gould – Independent
- Howling Laud Hope – The Official Monster Raving Loony Party
- Rob Kenyon – Reform UK
- Robert Pownall – Independent
- Rebecca Shepherd – Restore Britain
- Sarah Wakefield – Green Party
- Peter Ward – Rejoin EU Bring in PR
- Michael Winstanley – Conservative Party
