Alright, so Andy Burnham, the guy who probably had a 'Remain' bumper sticker on his Prius back in 2016, is now suddenly channeling his inner Nigel Farage. He's saying no to all that EU rejoin nonsense. Can you believe it? Talk about a glow-up... or is it just election season?

Apparently, Wes Streeting, another one of those shiny-shoe politicians, suggested we should just crawl back to Brussels. Burnham's response? A big ol' middle finger, basically. He's all about fixing our own backyard first. “My view is that Brexit has been damaging, but I also believe the last thing we should do right now is rerun those arguments,” Burnham said. Translation: 'Shut up, Wes, nobody cares about your Davos opinions.'

He's running for some byelection in a place called Makerfield. Sounds like something out of Lord of the Rings. He's promising to focus on the area's needs, which, let's be honest, is what every politician says before they completely forget about those needs five minutes after getting elected. But hey, at least he's saying the right things for now.

He even apologized for the “circus” that his campaign is about to unleash on the poor folks of Makerfield. “I want to say sorry to the residents of the Makerfield constituency, for the circus that is about to arrive in town and some of the inconvenience they will experience as a result,” he said. Self-aware much? Nah, probably just playing the humble card.

Burnham’s plan is to make Makerfield the center of the universe, at least for a few weeks. He wants to highlight how this forgotten corner of England has been screwed over for decades. Now this is where it gets interesting. He blames “40 years of neoliberalism” for the North's problems. So, he's anti-globalist now? Did someone slip something into his tea?

“The deindustrialisation of the 1980s was devastating for places across Makerfield. That was followed by deregulation, privatisation and austerity,” he whined. “It all adds up to 40 years of neoliberalism that have not been kind to the north of England.” I mean, he's not wrong. The Tories have been hollowing out the country for decades. It's just weird hearing a Labour guy admit it.

He goes on about “trickle-down economics” not working, which, duh. It's like expecting a glass of water to fill a swimming pool. “Forty years of trickle-down economics that did not, in the end, trickle down very much at all to places to like Platt Bridge or Hindley. In fact, that system has siphoned wealth out of those places and into the hands of people for whom life was already very good,” Burnham pointed out. Good line, Andy. Now do something about it.