Palantir-linked lobbyist ran strategy for Burnham's return to parliament

Martha Dalton, co-founder of lobbying firm Lodestone, ran strategic communications and rebuttal for Andy Burnham’s Makerfield byelection campaign. Lodestone worked for Palantir in 2024-2025, promoting its software at parliamentary events where engineers demonstrated AI systems for public services. Dalton took six weeks’ unpaid leave for the campaign, the Guardian reported Oct. 2. Burnham became prime minister in July 2026.