Andy Burnham has launched his by-election campaign with a stroke of luck, as his two most dangerous rivals stumbled out of the gate. The first constituency poll gives the Labour candidate a slender 43-40% advantage over Reform, but the result remains on a knife-edge.
Reform's candidate, Robert Kenyon, was criticised for remarks about Carol Vorderman, as well as violent fantasies and views on minorities. Meanwhile, the Greens were thrown into disarray after their initial candidate, Chris Kennedy, withdrew within hours, apologising for sharing a post calling the firebombing of Jewish ambulances a 'false flag'. The extremist Restore Britain party, led by expelled Reform MP Rupert Lowe, is also standing, polling at 7% which is likely to benefit Labour.
Nigel Farage's local elections slogan was 'Vote Reform to get rid of Starmer'. However, Burnham is the politician most likely to achieve that, though he will not publicly state that a vote for Labour can deliver what both parties want for opposite reasons. If Burnham wins, more voices will predict Starmer will stand down rather than face inevitable defeat.
The question then would be whether Wes Streeting forces a contest or accepts a coronation and a Cabinet post. Streeting talks a good game but holds a weak hand, while others like Rachel Reeves want to keep their jobs. National politics is virtually frozen until the result is known in the early hours of June 19.
Kevin Maguire, Associate Editor of the Mirror, notes that Farage's proposals benefit his own financial elite at the cost of working people. TUC chief Paul Nowak stated that workers deserve decent pay rises and secure jobs, not longer hours. Farage, who received a £5 million gift and £2 million from second jobs, is now complaining about Moscow-linked hackers revealing the gift, which could see him kicked out of the Commons.
