GREATER Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has hit the Senedd election campaign trail in Gwent – and insisted he was doing so in support of Labour’s candidates.

The former cabinet minister, who quit Westminster shortly after his failure to win Labour’s 2015 leadership race, was blocked from seeking a return to Parliament earlier this year when the party’s ruling body banned him from standing as its candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election.

At the Senedd election Labour is tipped to be beaten to first place for the first time in the 27 years of the devolution era, as well as for the first time in a major election in Wales in 100 years, while in England it is bracing itself for potentially losing thousands of council seats as well as a continued struggle to reestablish itself in the Scottish Parliament.

He said: “I’ve been 40 plus years as a member, 25 years, a quarter of a century as an elected politician, and at no point in those 25 years whenever elections are taking place anywhere in the country have I just been sat at home. So no is the answer to that. When Labour people are out fighting elections, I will fight with them always.”

Mr Burnham visited Swansea and Porthcawl on Thursday, April 30 before visiting his daughter, a student in Cardiff where he also campaigned that evening, ahead of a meeting with Labour candidates and council leader Dimitri Batrouni in Newport on Friday morning and then heading to the Big Pit mining museum in Blaenavon.

“Alls I can say is I spend a lot of time in Wales, my daughter studies in Cardiff, I’ve been in and out of Cardiff a lot in recent years, I see the same changes happening there as we’re trying to bring about in Manchester,” said Mr Burnham.

“The Welsh Labour Government, I think I’m right in saying, put the International Conference Centre into Newport, that is a big economic generator. I see the change in north Wales as well. It’s not easy turning places around that were deindustrialised by the Tories, I know that as mayor of Greater Manchester, I probably know that as much as anybody else in this country, it is hard to turn around deindustrialisation but I see it happening here in Wales.

Mr Burnham also accused Reform of “posing” when it was put to him the party’s position is it is able to offer a change after 27 years of Labour in government: “Well they’re posing aren’t they? I mean people will have to make their own judgement and I’m just giving you what I feel to be true.

“The two Reform candidates here were ex-Tories, they are the new Thatcherites and they never stood up for Wales in the past and I don’t believe they will in the future.”

Asked if he wanted to return to Parliament Mr Burnham replied “I put myself forward earlier this year so obviously that answers that question.”

Asked if he thought a cabinet minister such as Mr Thomas-Symonds could temporarily take over as Prime Minister to clear the way for him to lead Labour at the next general election Mr Burnham started to answer, and said “I don’t think anyone’s putting themselves forward” before his minder stepped in and said they needed to leave.