Burnham clashes with Nigel Farage over attack ad showing Channel migrants with 'Vote Andy' placards

By JAMES TAPSFIELD, UK POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 14:52, 31 May 2026 | Updated: 14:56, 31 May 2026 Andy Burnham has clashed with Nigel Farage over an attack ad showing Channel migrants backing him in the Makerfield by-election. The Reform leader posted a doctored image on social media of people in a small boat carrying 'Vote Andy' placards. Stepping up his rhetoric ahead of the June 18 vote, Mr Farage insisted: 'Andy Burnham is for them, not for you.'  But the Greater Manchester Mayor responded with a laughing emoji, saying: 'Are you getting desperate, lad? Maybe keep your crypto millions for something else.' An undeterred Mr Farage hit back that the mayor was funding efforts to help illegal migrants claim benefits.    'Your scheme will provide housing and benefits to people who came here illegally. I prefer to put the British people first,' he said. Nigel Farage posted a doctored image on social media of people in a small boat carrying 'Vote Andy' placards The Greater Manchester Mayor responded with a laughing emoji, saying: 'Are you getting desperate, lad? Labour insiders have voiced alarm that Andy Burnham (pictured) is already 'wargaming' a snap general election and assembling a fantasy Cabinet Your browser does not support iframes. The spat erupted with the race in Makerfield too close to call between Labour and Reform. An early poll last week put Mr Burnham on 43 per cent support, with Reform's Rob Kenyon on 40 per cent. Constituency surveys are notoriously difficult, suggesting that the contest is effectively neck and neck.  Notably the poll showed Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain on 7 per cent, sparking more calls for the Right to unite to avoid handing the seat to Mr Burnham.   Labour insiders have voiced alarm that Mr Burnham is already 'wargaming' a snap general election and assembling a fantasy Cabinet. The former Cabinet minister has been warned against taking Makerfield for granted amid mounting signs allies are plotting his first steps as PM.  Plans are said to be in place for calling a snap general election if he has a 'honeymoon' period after taking over from Keir Starmer. There is also frenzied jostling over who would be in his Cabinet, with speculation that Ed Miliband and Shabana Mahmood are both in the frame to become Chancellor.  Mr Burnham has been making little secret of his intention to challenge Sir Keir, who has faced a wave of anger after disastrous local elections. In a campaign video last week he told Makerfield voters they could make the constituency the 'most powerful in the land' by putting him in the Commons. An early poll has suggested next month's Makerfield by-election is on a knife edge, with Mr Burnham trying to fend off Reform UK's candidate, Rob Kenyon (right)  The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.