'Makerfield by-election is between Labour's plan to rebuild Britain - and disappointment of protest politics'

'Makerfield by-election is between Labour's plan to rebuild Britain - and disappointment of protest politics' "Makerfield faces a choice between a Labour Party focused on jobs, homes, the NHS and economic growth, and parties offering easy answers to complex problems" On Thursday, the people of Makerfield go to the polls in a by-election that matters far beyond one constituency. As Andy Burnham put it this week, it is a chance to help "write a new script for Britain". Behind those words lies a simple question: who can genuinely improve people's lives? After years of Tory chaos, stretched public services and falling trust in politics, Labour was elected with a mandate to rebuild Britain. The scale of that challenge is enormous, but rebuilding a country takes hard work, serious policies and time. Voters understandably want faster change. But frustration alone is not a plan for the future. Makerfield faces a choice between a Labour Party focused on jobs, homes, the NHS and economic growth, and parties offering easy answers to complex problems. Reform thrives on anger and disillusionment, but anger does not cut waiting lists, build affordable homes or create secure jobs. Mr Burnham is right that communities outside Westminster deserve a stronger voice. The answer to disappointment is not protest politics. It is progress, delivery and a government determined to make change stick. Patients' alarm For millions of patients, medicine is not optional. It keeps them alive, healthy and out of hospital. That is why worsening drug shortages should alarm us all. GPs and pharmacists say supplies are among the worst they have ever seen. Medicines for high blood pressure, pain relief, epilepsy and digestive disorders are becoming harder to find, leaving patients anxious and healthcare professionals scrambling for alternatives. Britain’s failure to pay competitive prices for medicines has left the UK vulnerable in a crowded global market. Now growing instability in the Middle East and the impact of the Iran conflict threaten to put even greater pressure on supply chains. Patients should not be forced to search from pharmacy to pharmacy for essential treatment. Ministers must act now to secure supplies and protect patient safety. Un-beat-able! Every day, NHS staff perform miracles. Elliot Atkins is living proof. Doctors at Great Ormond Street pioneered a treatment that reversed heart failure and saved a little boy once facing impossible odds. Today he is running, laughing and training for sports day. A triumph of medical innovation and NHS expertise.