The Transport Secretary has thrown her support behind Andy Burnham in the make-or-break by-election for the Labour party in Makerfield, describing the contest as 'high-stakes' and warning against the 'toxic' politics of Reform UK.
Heidi Alexander Voices Support
Speaking in Brighton, Heidi Alexander revealed the first train adorned with Great British Railways (GBR) branding, a publicly owned rail company set to launch next year. However, the shadow of Labour's crushing local election loss two weeks ago loomed large, sparking calls for Sir Keir Starmer to resign and Wes Streeting to step down. Burnham's candidacy in the by-election could pave the way for a leadership challenge if he wins.
Alexander acknowledged the local election defeat was 'tough' for her party. 'I'll be heading up to Makerfield to knock on doors with him to make sure we defeat Reform in that by-election contest,' she told Metro. 'Because we've got to win this by-election and there's a lot at stake. He will have my support in that election.'
Criticism of Reform UK
Alexander, considered a Starmer ally, accused Reform of fostering division. 'The politics that Reform stands for, in terms of creating division in communities, some pretty toxic things that some of their candidates have said in the past. The country deserves better,' she said.
When asked about Burnham's chances, she responded: 'We are fighting for every vote in Makerfield at the moment. The results of the local elections across the country were very tough for the party. He has been a great mayor of Greater Manchester. He's delivered real improvements to the lives of people in that region. And it is where he grew up and his children went to school. I think people like a local candidate, a local lad.'
However, she dismissed any immediate leadership challenge, stating, 'There is no leadership challenge at the moment,' when asked about transport priorities for a future Labour prime minister.
Great British Railways Branding Unveiled
Amid Labour's internal strife, work has continued on the GBR train branding, with the first train featuring a Union Jack-inspired design and the double arrow rail symbol. The unveiling sparked intense online debate, with some critics calling it 'ugly and impractical.' Chris Date remarked on X that it looked like 'the Union Flag, Network SouthEast, Transpennine Express and GB News had a foursome.'
Alexander defended the design, saying: 'When we launched the branding in December and gave people that sneak preview of what it will look like, and when I spoke with members of the public they said it looks clean, fresh and modern. We have a little bit of a Union Jack, but it's not plastered all over the train. This is about unifying the rail network. We've had 14 train operators all with different branding previously. When people have tried to book tickets they've had to go to different websites. We want to make it simpler.'
Concerns about costs were addressed by Alexander, who noted that the wrapping on the first train was paid for by the Rolling Stock Company, not taxpayers. 'This is a four car train. If you were doing a ten-car train, that could cost up to £100,000,' she explained. 'That is why we are going to roll out the branding in an incremental way, because I don't think the public will thank me if I say I was going to spend hundreds of millions of pounds on branding. They might ask 'why don't you recruit more drivers so that we have got train crew availability and we're not going to see so many cancellations and delays.' My absolutely focus is on getting the basics right. This is about running the rail services in the interests of the passenger, not private shareholders. The privatisation model failed, we know that. This is about a new future where people can be proud of the railways.'
