Facing a seismic by-election, the people of Makerfield tell us what matters to them

BBC ^ | June 11 | Joshua Nevett

[RandFan]

In a handful of former mining towns and villages in north-west England, there is a lot of frustration with the state of the UK.

It is common to hear people say "Britain is broken", "we are forgotten", and calls for "change".

This is the Makerfield constituency, where locals are being heard louder than ever before in the most consequential by-election in decades.

A constituency that made up 0.1% of voters at the last general election is not only picking a new MP on 18 June.

Voters here are also potentially choosing the next prime minister.

That is because Labour's candidate, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, has said that if elected, he would seek to enter any Labour leadership contest to replace Sir Keir Starmer in Downing Street.

First, Burnham must defeat his main rival in Makerfield, local plumber Robert Kenyon, who is standing for Reform UK, an insurgent party that is also aiming to win power in Westminster.

Britain is "broken", Reform UK claims, while Burnham says the country has been on "the wrong path for 40 years".

But in the dozens of conversations I had with voters, residents, business owners and political campaigners in Makerfield, the mood was more nuanced than the rhetoric suggests.

So what exactly do they want to change - and what are the candidates promising to deliver?

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TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Conspiracy
KEYWORDS: britain; election; england; europe

[RandFan]

This is probably the biggest special election in British HISTORY and all eyes on this district.

Fascinating insights. People complain they've been forgotten nationally and that Britain is broken. The main local issues appear to be illegal garbage dumping and poor flood defenses.