'Makerfield is suddenly at the epicentre of British politics'

'Makerfield is suddenly at the epicentre of British politics'11 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleAnnabel TiffinNorth West political editorPA MediaAll eyes are on the parliamentary seat of MakerfieldOnce again all eyes are on Greater Manchester - less than four months after the Gorton and Denton by-election, here we go again. This time in the parliamentary seat of Makerfield in Wigan.The constituency is suddenly at the epicentre of British politics - and the result could decide the next prime minister.The first thing to learn about Makerfield is it isn't actually a place. It's a constituency made up of eight wards, and parts of two more, none of which are called Makerfield. It is home to about 76,000 voters in the suburbs of Wigan and nearby former mining towns and villages.PAAndy Burnham has taken a political gamble Although the constituency is in Greater Manchester, many people there still consider themselves Lancastrians, including Margaret Atherton, who has lived in Ashton-in-Makerfield for almost 70 years. She told me without hesitation: "It's still Lancashire to me, I know my postcode is Manchester, but I will always live in Lancashire."Makerfield - and under its previous name of Ince - has been Labour for more than a 120 years. It is considered one of the party's safest red wall seats but recently things have shifted. In the 2024 general election, Josh Simons retained the seat for Labour with a majority of just over 5,000. Reform UK came second. However, at the recent local elections, Nigel Farage's party swept the board, winning all seats up for grabs in Makerfield.PA MediaReform "hoovered up a lot of votes" from independents in the local elections, Prof Tonge saysNinety-six percent of people in the constituency are white British born and 65% voted to leave the EU. "This is exactly the sort of place that Reform can expect to do well," said Prof of Politics Jon Tonge, from the Univer...