Andy Burnham has said Labour has "not been good enough" for Britons under Sir Keir Starmer as the Mayor of Greater Manchester launches his Makerfield campaign.
Mr Burnham was confirmed as the party's candidate last week after Labour's ruling body gave him the thumbs up to run.
The group of senior Labour officials, including Sir Keir Starmer, drew surmountable criticism after refusing to allow Mr Burnham to run in the Gorton & Denton by-election in February.
Delivering a speech in the constituency, Mr Burnham declared working-class communities across Makerfield have been neglected by national politics.
Following a disastrous set of election losses for the party at the start of the month, the Greater Manchester Mayor declared: "We have not been good enough.
"A vote for me in this by-election is a vote to change Labour. It is a vote to give the people in these communities back the party they used to know.
"A party that is solidly on the side of working class people and working class communities."
"It needs a new script and over the next four weeks the people of Makerfield are going to write that script, and it’s great that they’re going to get that chance," he added, speaking before cheering supporters.
Andy Burnham launched his Makerfield campaign this morning
|GETTY
In the landmark speech, he vowed to fight for Makerfield constituents - and to "carry that fight forward" as a Member of Parliament.
In a "different phase" in his bid to champion the North, Mr Burnham said: "We’ve taken that fight for people here, and I will carry that fight forward if I am lucky enough to be elected as the MP for Makerfield.
"I’ll take that fight as high as I can possibly take it, and that’s the journey I’ve always been on, and it’s not a new journey for me, it’s the same journey, just in a different phase, and that’s what this is all about."
Mr Burnham is widely touted as one of Sir Keir Starmer's leadership rivals - a threat that is likely to be amplified by the Greater Manchester Mayor's potential return to Westminster politics.
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Andy Burnham told GB News the Makerfield by-election will be a ‘turning point for British politics’
| GB NEWSAt the same time, Mr Burnham delivered a scathing attack on Westminster politics and declared that he feels a "burning sense of injustice" for northern communities.
He accused those in SW1 of putting people beyond the M25 "at the bottom of the list".
The Labour candidate also dismissed claims that he is treating the Makerfield by-election as a mere "stepping stone" to his Westminster revival.
"Somebody has said in this campaign that this is a stepping stone for me. How can it be a stepping stone if it takes you back to where it all began?" he asked.
"The reason it comes back is because I’ve never stopped what I started 25 years ago. I’ve never stopped that. I fought for these people in these places as a Member of Parliament. I fought for them as a minister."
Speaking after the launch, Mr Burnham told GB News the Makerfield by-election will be a "turning point" for British politics.
The Labour candidate also insisted he "gets it" on immigration and will work to rebuild public trust on the issue.
"I'm standing before the people of Makerfield. I think this is a really necessary moment in British politics," the Greater Manchester Mayor said.
"I know they'll experience inconvenience over the next four weeks, but I do feel that this by-election could be a turning point for British politics."