Andy Burnham pledges block on vape shops and a new Ashton youth zone in crime crackdown announcement
Labour's candidate for Makerfield, Andy Burnham, has today (June 9) announced a crackdown on organised crime blighting local communities in an attempt to boost local high streets and also revealed the biggest change that residents will see if he became the MP.
Today, Mr Burnham is calling for new powers to tackle the anti-social behaviour and organised crime blighting local communities.
He has also said that he will demand a change in the law to give local councils the power to block vape shops, and new powers to stamp out illegal e-bikes causing anguish to local residents.
Operation Vulcan - run by Greater Manchester Police - tackles “dodgy” shops that act as fronts for organised crime.
Mr Burnham is calling for a similar initiative, including police patrols and high-profile raids around the clock, to be rolled out in Makerfield.
The mayor of Greater Manchester is also pledging to create a new Ashton Youth Zone. He hopes that the new centre will bring new sports, learning and training facilities which will then give local young people across Makerfield “a place to go, activities to join and a person to talk to”.
When asked about the link between giving young people opportunities and crime, Mr Burnham said: “I think it’s a massive part of the answer. I don’t think young people are bad or that they’ve changed.
"What I do think is that they have fewer opportunity these days. It was a real mistake to slash youth services 15 years ago because young people need diversion, they need positive things.”
Despite Wigan Youth Zone already being established, Mr Burnham said: “The nature of this borough is that it’s not always easy for people to travel that far, particularly on an evening.
"Leigh has now got a satellite to Wigan Youth Zone at Leigh Sports Village and I think Ashton needs the same. I’ve been in contact with the chair of Wigan Youth Zone and they are open to that proposal.”
Mr Burnham also stated that he has heard the call for action on local high streets numerous times after meeting with residents during his campaign.
He added: "For too long, Westminster has been allowed to ignore areas like ours - I'm fighting this by-election to change that.
“People in Makerfield have had enough of dodgy shops blighting our high streets and illegal e-bikes making their lives a misery. Today’s announcement is about showing local residents ‘I’m on your side’.”
“I'm calling for a blitz on the organised crime blighting local high streets, and push for new powers to stop those causing misery to our local communities.”
On the biggest change that locals will see if he does become MP for Makerfield, Mr Burnham said: “It would be the fix of things that have just been neglected for too long. I’m going to come back to flooding, because until you fix that, you can’t say that things are right for people.”
“The big change will be that the authorities will be held accountable to this constituency and I want this constituency to become the most powerful constituency in the country.”