I'm Ed Vasey and we're going to be unpacking the politics of the day from Andy Burnham's campaign launch in Makerfield to why Alice Denby has switched her vote from Labour to, yes, you guessed it, reform. It's hard to keep up. There's also a new satirical party in India that Alice might be interested in it.

It's called the Cockroach Party.

Joining me two journalists who would also survive a nuclear winter.

I've already referred to one of them.

It is, of course, the City AM Opinion and Features Editor Alice Demby.

Welcome to the show.

Hello, thank you for having me.

And the former Times diplomatic editor, Michael Binion. Welcome to the show, Michael. thank you for having me. And the former Times diplomatic editor, Michael

Binion. Welcome to the show, Michael. Thanks, Ed. Right, let's get straight down to it. Andy

Burnham has officially launched his campaign for the Make a Field by-election. This is his speech this

morning. A vote for me in this by-election campaign is a vote to change Labour. It is a vote to give the people here in these

communities who supported us through the years. It's a vote to give them the party back that they used to know.

That is what this is a vote for. A party, a party that is solidly, solidly on the side of working

class people and working class communities. Well, another clip that I've

heard has Andy Burnham banging on and on and on and on about change, change, change, change,

change. And KB, Kate texted him to say, why on earth does everyone bang on about change?

Whole careers can be built on it as well as political party proposals. Why doesn't anyone say improvement? I agree with you, Kate, that this banging on about change is getting

quite tedious, although I'm not sure improvement would get people running in the streets. Of course,

everyone knows that Burnham wants to return to Westminster so you can challenge Kirstama for

the latest leadership and become our next prime minister. Alice, this is a fascinating

by-election because you've got two candidates who effectively do want to change. They're taking on

the Westminster establishment, although oddly Andy Burnham comes from the Westminster establishment.

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