The Green Party announced its candidate for the Makerfield by-election today - a pro-Palestine nurse who recently criticised the cost of holding by-elections.

Chris Kennedy, a children's safeguarding specialist, said he was 'proud' to have been elected to stand on June 18 in a vote by members.

He was unveiled as the Greens suggested they would campaign hard in what is seen as a straight fight between Reform and Labour, which could hinder Andy Burnham's planned return to Westminster.

It comes weeks after Mr Kennedy failed to win a seat on nearby St Helens Council for his home town of Newton-le-Willows as the authority was swept by Reform UK, having been controlled by Labour for most of the past 50 years.

His campaign saw him put his name to the 'Candidate Pledge for Palestine' in which more than 2,200 people seeking elected office vowed to 'stand up to Israel for its crimes of genocide and apartheid' in Gaza, including by disinvesting council pension funds from 'complicit' firms.

It was organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the organisation behind a 2024 London rally which saw the controversial slogan 'from the river to the sea' projected on to Big Ben and whose director Ben Jamal was last month convicted of breaching protest orders.

Mr Kennedy's local election campaign also saw him praise the Labour-run Wigan Council - which serves Makerfield - for the quality of its special educational needs improvements.

And in perhaps the most eye-catching comments of that failed campaign, Mr Kennedy also hit out at by-elections and the money they take away from the community.

Highlighting the number of Reform candidates who quit shortly after being elected following the 2025 local elections he told the Canary website: 'My focus is money and how we are spending it wisely for the community, because when we have to have a by-election because a Reform candidate drops out after becoming a councillor, then it costs a lot of money for that area to then have a by-election. 

'That is money that can be spent on potholes, roads and infrastructure to support families and special educational needs children, which I think is more important than the fact that they cannot get their house in order before they stand people for election.'

The Makerfield by-election was called after Labour MP Josh Simons quit last week simply so Andy Burnham could have a route back to Westminster that would allow him to challenge Sir Keir Starmer.

When he was announced this morning, Mr Kennedy said: 'We want to defend our area against the politics of hate and division and bring people together around a positive vision for the future.

'At the same time, we can't let this election be dominated by a Westminster psychodrama. It must be about protecting what makes Makerfield special. 

'People here are feeling the pressure of the cost-of-living crisis, and they deserve real support.

'Greens will fight for warmer homes, lower bills, and a fairer economy. And we will always stand up for our NHS, properly funded, publicly owned, and there for everyone when they need it.'

Green Party leader Zack Polanski said the 'greatest threat' in the by-election was Nigel Farage's Reform UK.

He said: 'It is in hock to corporate interests and seeks to divide our communities rather than uniting them. We have shown we can take votes from Reform in a way Labour just can't. We know there are many voters fed up with the status quo who will only choose between Reform and Greens.'

He also said his party would use the by-election to 'press Andy Burnham on what kind of MP and Prime Minister he would be, given his mixed track record, and interviews this week suggesting he isn't committed to fair voting, public ownership and a genuinely new economic settlement'.