Why one area could decide Britain’s next PM
People in Makerfield made up 0.1% of the vote at the last general election. Now - they’re potentially choosing the next prime minister. In the
People in Makerfield made up 0.1% of the vote at the last general election. Now - they’re potentially choosing the next prime minister. In the most consequential by-election in decades, 14 candidates are standing to become an MP for the north-west England seat.
The two main front-runners are Labour’s Andy Burnham and Reform UK’s Rob Kenyon. Burnham has said that if elected, he would seek to enter any Labour leadership contest to replace Keir Starmer in Downing Street. BBC Journalist Kirsty Grant headed to Makerfield to explain how we got here.
For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news 0:00 - Background to Makerfield 00:36 - What’s a by-election? 01:02 - What do locals think? 01:22 - Pressure on Starmer
01:41 - Labour’s Burnham plan 02:01 - About Kenyon and Burnham 02:22 - Locals: ‘It’s been chaos’ 03:10 - Global media attention 03:29 - The threat of Reform 04:33 - Awkward for Starmer
The BriefWire