Let’s have a think about what’s happening in Makerfield. This by election is costing taxpayers £226,208. And it’s happening because a Labour MP chose to step aside to make room for Andy Burnham’s leadership ambitions. He admitted that himself. But here’s some more interesting figures. If Burnham wins, he’ll have to resign as Greater Manchester Mayor too. That triggers another election costing taxpayers around £4.7 million. So in total, nearly £5 million of public money could be spent not on improving services, fixing roads, supporting communities or helping struggling families, but on political career ambitions. People are struggling with bills, crime, NHS waiting lists and communities being ignored. Yet Westminster politics still seems focused on who climbs the ladder next. That’s what frustrates people. Not democracy. Political games made to look like democracy.

@Nickie_Brown Why does it cost so much? Can you post us a breakdown of the costs?

@uk_ktee7484 @Nickie_Brown This is with loads of volunteers giving up their time for free. If you assiged value to their time the cost would be even higher. And imho, Labour has over 400 MPs and if they really checked each they'd easily find 10 candidates better suited than Burnham anyway

@uk_ktee7484 @Nickie_Brown There were 243 new Labour MPs in 2024. The media is only considering 1-2 of them if that. Westminster does a crap job of getting new intake MPs into positions to showcase their abilities