Political Fix: Makerfield or bust: Burnham goes for broke
6/14/202646 min
With a week to go until Makerfield heads to the polls in what may turn out to be the most consequential by-election in British history, host Lucy Fisher, northern England correspondent Jen Williams and deputy political editor Jim Pickard are on the ground hearing from voters in the seat. Polls and bookmakers confidently predict an Andy Burnham victory but they discuss whether that narrative is too neat and what issues are really shaping voters’ choices. The result could determine not just who represents Makerfield, but also the future of the country if Burnham wins and successfully challenges Sir Keir Starmer for the premiership. Plus, they weigh up the shock resignation of defence secretary John Healey who has blasted Starmer’s government for being “unwilling” to commit sufficient resources to protecting the country.
Follow: Lucy @LOS_Fisher or @lucyfisher.ft.com; Jen @JenWilliams_FT or @jenwilliamsft.bskyb.social; Jim on @PickardJE or @pickardje.bskyb.social
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Political Fix was presented by Lucy Fisher and produced by Persis Love and Nisha Patel. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and sound engineering by Breen Turner. The FT’s global head of audio is Flo Phillips.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:00
Hey guys, it's Mark. Next week there's a local election in the UK that could be the most consequential in recent British political history. Voters in Makerfield, just outside Manchester, head to the polls to choose a new member of Parliament. Among the candidates is former Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham. He's widely seen as a potential challenger to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Labour's future leader. Burnham is the bookmakers' favorite, but there's a catch, a strong challenge from Reform UK, the insurgent party that continues to disrupt British politics. If Burnham wins, attention would be on what his return to Westminster would mean. But if Reform pulls off an upset, it would send shock waves through the political establishment. In this episode of the FT's Political Fix podcast, Lucy Fisher and her panel look beyond the headlines, and they ask what's really driving voters in Makerfield, and how could the result shape the future of British politics? Enjoy.
Speaker 20:55
[upbeat music] I just want somebody fresh, somebody new, somebody from here, somebody who gets it.
Lucy Fisher· Host1:02
A flavor there of what voters are saying in Makerfield.
Speaker 21:05
We need somebody with a backbone.
Speaker 41:07
Well, we've got people in there supposed to do what they said they're gonna do. None of them have so far.
Lucy Fisher· Host1:11
Welcome to Political Fix from the Financial Times with me, Lucy Fisher. Now, we are recording this in a pub in Makerfield, where I've been on the ground, uh, for two days now, trying to take the political temperature ahead of the by-election next week. It is shaping up to be potentially the most historic