He's just down to earth': Ashton-in-Makerfield receptive to Burnham run

"A car rolls past the television cameras and reporters flocking the high street in Ashton-in-Makerfield, winds down the window, and a voice from within shouts: Andy Burnham! Such enthusiastic support for a Labour politician is perhaps unexpected here, given that Reform won 24 out of 25 seats when voters in this borough, Wigan, went to the polls last week, and Starmer's party came away with nothing. But Burnham is not your ordinary Labour politician."

"And in what will be potentially the most consequential byelection in living memory, the Greater Manchester mayor has announced his intention to contest this seat, after the sitting MP Josh Simons agreed to step aside for him. It is undoubtedly the biggest risk of Burnham's political career. If Labour put up any other candidate, Reform would be odds-on to take the seat, which Simons won in 2024 with a majority of just over 5,000."

"In Ashton-In-Makerfield, Pete Thompson, who runs Revolving Records, is cautiously optimistic about Burnham himself but less so about his chances. Given the choice, I would say Andy Burnham is a better figurehead than our prime minister, he said. Let's see where that goes, but he's got to get in first, hasn't he? That is not going to be easy, I don't think, he added. Not with what Reform have done [locally]."

"Ryan Fairhurst a hairdresser, has switched to Reform after voting Labour all his life. He likes that Farage is a businessman and hopes that his party would start more investment into local businesses. We're not really seeing it, are we? he said. We see more local businesses closing down. Meanwhile, Peter Cain, a butcher, may vote for Burnham, but doesn't know yet. He thinks he's more in reality with what's going on, but will have a tough fight on against Reform."

A car passes television cameras and reporters in Ashton-in-Makerfield as a supporter shouts Andy Burnham’s name. Enthusiastic Labour backing appears surprising because Reform won 24 of 25 seats in Wigan and Labour gained no seats there. Burnham, Greater Manchester mayor, intends to contest the seat after sitting MP Josh Simons agrees to step aside. The byelection is described as potentially the most consequential in living memory, and Burnham’s candidacy is framed as the biggest risk of his career. Labour’s chances are considered unlikely if another candidate were chosen, given Reform’s local strength and Simons’s 2024 majority of just over 5,000. Local voters express mixed views: some prefer Burnham over the prime minister, some have switched to Reform for business investment, and others remain undecided but doubt Reform’s pedigree.

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