UK Makerfield by-election: Andy Burnham wins seat with 55% of the vote — Transcript

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1. 0:004,927.
2. 0:01>> [cheering]
3. 0:02>> An extraordinary election like no other
4. 0:06in the UK. [cheering]
5. 0:07Voters being asked to elect a Labour
6. 0:09Party MP in order to try to get rid of
7. 0:12an increasingly unpopular sitting Labour
8. 0:15Prime Minister. The stakes were
9. 0:17enormous, but it was a gamble Andy
10. 0:19Burnham won with a thumping victory.
11. 0:22>> Everyone can feel that the country isn't
12. 0:25where it should be.
13. 0:28Tonight
14. 0:29could just could
15. 0:31be the turning point.
16. 0:32>> By leaving his role as Mayor of
17. 0:34Manchester and becoming an MP, his
18. 0:36unrivaled popularity in this part of
19. 0:38England could now see him trigger a
20. 0:40leadership contest for the keys to
21. 0:42number 10 Downing Street.
22. 0:46In the constituency of Makerfield, this
23. 0:48wasn't just about the fate of two rival
24. 0:51parties, but the very trajectory of the
25. 0:54UK. All in the hands of around 76,000
26. 0:57voters, just 0.15%
27. 1:00of the population.
28. 1:01This decision will now likely have
29. 1:03implications for the whole country.
30. 1:05Never have so few had so much influence
31. 1:08on so many.
32. 1:09>> It affects us massively, but you don't
33. 1:11always get your chance to put your view
34. 1:13across.
35. 1:14>> I think it's meant that people are
36. 1:15actually going to listen to you. But you
37. 1:17think like your voice is going to be
38. 1:18heard.
39. 1:19>> It's on ordinary housing estates like
40. 1:21this one in Worsley Mesnes on the
41. 1:23outskirts of Wigan, where opinions have
42. 1:25been split. Some felt that Labour,
43. 1:27typically the party of the working
44. 1:29class, had abandoned them with
45. 1:31right-wing Reform UK making huge gains
46. 1:33in recent local elections.
47. 1:35Those at the mosque on the estate say
48. 1:37they now hope there will be unity.
49. 1:39>> We've experienced quite a lot of racism
50. 1:43in the past and quite a lot of
51. 1:45discrimination and the likes of Andy
52. 1:47who's done a fantastic job in Greater
53. 1:50Manchester.
54. 1:51We expect him to sort of like, you know,
55. 1:53continue that good work in Westminster
56. 1:55and basically try to bring the
57. 1:57communities together.
58. 1:59>> Andy Burnham has said that places in
59. 2:00this part of England aren't a career
60. 2:02stepping stone for him, but rather the
61. 2:04inspiration to lead. And it's what's
62. 2:07next that's really interesting, because
63. 2:09many people thought it was going to be
64. 2:11close between Andy Burnham and the
65. 2:13candidate for Reform UK, but it wasn't.
66. 2:16He won by a much bigger margin than his
67. 2:18wildest hopes, and that will be a
68. 2:20decisive factor in the inevitable
69. 2:23challenge that's to come.
70. 2:25So, this path he's started in a
71. 2:27relatively small part of England could
72. 2:29next see a turbulent and divisive
73. 2:31national leadership contest against
74. 2:33Prime Minister Keir Starmer, which could
75. 2:35ultimately shape the political direction
76. 2:38of the UK for years to come. Frances
77. 2:41Reed, Al Jazeera, Ashton-under-Lyne
78. 2:42Wakefield.