Nigel Farage has sparked a war of words with Andy Burnham after posting an AI-generated image of migrants holding pro-Burnham signs. The Reform UK leader shared the doctored picture on X, showing smiling migrants in a dinghy waving red placards reading 'Vote Andy For Us'. He captioned it: 'Andy Burnham is for them, not for you. Vote Reform in Makerfield.'
Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, responded with a jibe about Farage's controversial £5 million donation from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne. 'Are you getting desperate, lad? Maybe keep your crypto millions for something else,' he wrote. Farage then shared a screenshot of a news article claiming Burnham's authority plans to spend £700,000 on refugee integration, adding: 'Your scheme will provide housing and benefits to people who came here illegally.'
The clash comes as Burnham campaigns to return to Parliament in the Makerfield by-election, a seat covering Wigan which voted 63% Leave in the Brexit referendum. Polling shows Burnham leading with 43%, just 3% ahead of Reform's candidate Robert Kenyon. Burnham has faced criticism over his immigration stance, having previously called for scrapping the no recourse to public funds rule before reversing that position.
The by-election is seen as a test of Labour's strength under Sir Keir Starmer, with Burnham's potential leadership ambitions adding to the stakes. The Survation poll put the Liberal Democrats on 4%, Greens on 3%, and Conservatives on 2%.
