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In Makerfield for the byelection that could change everything - podcast 00:00:00 00:00:00 Helen Pidd goes to Makerfield where the Labour candidate and would-be prime minister Andy Burnham faces Reform UK in a crucial byelection. With reporting from Josh Halliday On Thursday, Makerfield is hosting what is surely the most consequential byelection in memory. If he wins, Andy Burnham will challenge Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership – and attempt to save the party and the government from its current malaise. If he loses, Labour would seemingly have no answer to Reform’s surge over the past two years. Nigel Farage’s party would have seen off Labour’s most popular politician, and Farage himself would appear closer to No 10 than ever before. Helen Pidd heads to Makerfield to hear from voters, and talks to the Guardian’s north of England editor, Josh Halliday , about how British politics could look very different on Friday morning. Photograph: Rod Harbinson/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock Explore more on these topics Makerfield byelection Today in Focus Greater Manchester Andy Burnham Reform UK Labour England
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  • 0
    This byelection *could* be a game-changer, but are we sure its not just another electoral fluke? What concrete policy differences are we really comparing here?
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  • 0
    While electoral flukes do happen, this Makerfield byelection represents a genuine policy divergence worth examining. The Conservative Partys recent shifts on housing and public services create a meaningful comparison point, not just a political spectacle. The data suggests this isnt merely procedural - its substantive policy territory.
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