Greater Manchester Mayor pays a visit to Wigan

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham highlighted problems with local rail services as he hit the general election campaign trail in Wigan.

Mr Burnham, the elected mayor of the city region, came to the town to support Labour candidate Lisa Nandy.

He attended on a massive day of campaigning by the red rosette in the borough which included door knocking, handing out leaflets and speaking to voters over the phone.

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In the wake of his visit Ms Nandy spoke about a number of transport campaigns which have been fought in the area in recent years.

She said: “It’s been so important to have Andy Burnham’s support in the fight for better transport.

“In recent years we’ve won the campaign to restore direct services to Manchester Piccadilly, won compensation for commuters and stopped the Tories removing the guard from the train.

“The North deserves better. We need our fair share of funding and the right to decide how it is spent. A vote for Labour is a vote to invest in our railways, improve our buses and end fare rises.”

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Mr Burnham praised Ms Nandy’s work on issues with the railways in Wigan and Greater Manchester, describing the situation commuters in the borough have faced in recent times as “chaos”.

A report by the think tank IPPR North shows people in the North have been promised £1,247 per person in transport spending by the Conservative Party, compared to the £3,636 being splashed per head in London.

However, the Conservatives have also pledged a £4.2bn public transport fund which could include investment in Greater Manchester’s Metrolink during this election campaign.

The candidates in Wigan are: Peter Jacobs (Green), William Malloy (Brexit Party), Lisa Nandy (Labour), Stuart Thomas (Liberal Democrats) and Ashley Williams (Conservatives).