LONDON — Andy Burnham wants to be Britain’s next prime minister. But he’s banking on the old adage that all politics is local to get him there.
In the penultimate week of the Makerfield by-election campaign, the Greater Manchester mayor — who is seeking a Westminster seat to challenge British PM Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership — has been pumping cash into digital ads focused on hyper-local issues.
It’s a notable shift from a campaign that has focused heavily on Burnham’s vow to “change Labour” at a national level — and shows the tough fight he is in to ensure Nigel Farage’s Reform UK doesn’t win the seat instead. His Reform UK rival, Robert Kenyon, has repeatedly accused Burnham of using Makerfield as a “stepping stone” in his quest for high office.
POLITICO analysis of online spending information shows that Burnham has splurged around £8,000 in ad spend on the Meta social media platform in the last week, targeting potential voters on Facebook and Instagram with dozens of paid political adverts focused on local issues.
One paid ad contains a graphic of “Andy’s to do list for Makerfield” — with pledges to build link roads, open a pharmacy and doctors’ surgery, clean up a dump, and block a controversial local development. Another promotes a video from a supportive local Labour councillor bragging that Burnham had “steamrolled” a campaign to secure funds for a local library which has fallen into disrepair.
Team Burnham has also paid for an ad linking to a series of lengthy blog posts in which their candidate insists he is cognizant of specific frustrations in individual wards within the constituency.
Until now, much of Burnham’s paid content has focused on his successes as mayor of Greater Manchester. He has spent time suggesting his “place first” ethos could be replicated in Makerfield and beyond — rather than getting into the specific, granular grievances of voters.
The Labour hopeful’s inward turn extends beyond paid social media messaging, too.
His media team has exercised tight control over the number of national interviews he has agreed to during the campaign. He has focused on left-leaning outlets such as the Guardian, Mirror and New Statesman, whose readerships will include many Labour Party members who could ultimately decide the outcome of a leadership contest.
Aides intend to slow the pace of national interventions even further in the run-up to polling day.
Burnham’s campaign has opted to splash out on paid ads burnishing his image as a beloved local figure, who despite a long career in British politics, breaks the establishment mould.
It spent £2,000 to £2,500 — the biggest splurge of the week from his campaign page on a single ad— pushing a picture collage of effusive praise from Makerfield locals.
The post includes claims that Burnham is an “incredible and genuine man,” an “inspiration,” a “rare sort of politician” and a “lovely man sticking by his word.”
One poster even claims to have been so impressed by his commitment to justice for victims of the Hillsborough stadium disaster that they’d “knock on doors in bare feet to support this man.”