Nigel Farage warns Andy Burnham's honeymoon period as Prime Minister wouldn't 'last until lunchtime' as he hits the campaign trail in Makerfield in last full week of crunch by-election

By CHRISTIAN CALGIE, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT-AT-LARGE Published: 08:57, 11 June 2026 | Updated: 08:58, 11 June 2026 Nigel Farage has predicted that Andy Burnham's honeymoon period won't last 'until lunchtime' if he wins the Makerfield by-election and becomes Prime Minister. Speaking at a press conference in Ashton yesterday, Mr Farage branded Andy Burnham as a career politician who will become a 'hostage' to far-left Labour MPs. The Reform chief blasted: 'Even in the course of the last month, he's flipped and flopped more on policy positions than even Keir Starmer has. 'We know he's to the left, politically, but what does he actually believe in? What is he actually going to stand up and fight for? I don't know the answer to that, he doesn't know the answer to that. 'He actually does tick that box of career politician - telling people what he thinks they want to hear without ever being able to deliver it.' He predicted that if Mr Burnham wins the by-election next Thursday, 'the honeymoon that he has as Prime Minister I doubt will last until lunchtime! 'Because he'll become a hostage to the backbenches and our debt levels will continue to spiral.' Mr Farage reiterated his forecast of a general election in 2027 thanks to a financial meltdown caused by the Labour government. Nigel Farage warned that Andy Burnham will crash in popularity very quickly if he becomes Prime Minister Andy Burnham is plotting a leadership coup against Keir Starmer should he win the Makerfield by-election Despite appearing to entertain the idea that his Labour rival may win the crunch North West by-election, Mr Farage appeared buoyant when out on the doorstep canvassing voters yesterday. He spent two hours lobbying support around housing estates in the Makerfield constituency, remarking that Reform support appears to be on the rise as voters start having to make their minds up. Mr Farage was greeted warmly on the doorstep, while many criticised Mr Burnham for using their constituency merely as a 'stepping stone' for his lofty career ambitions without being prompted. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Mr Farage said that the campaign session felt 'really good' and 'better than last week'. He also insisted that the party's own returns suggest the seat is all to play for, and are at odds with the latest Survation poll putting Labour 10 points ahead. Mr Farage continued to face questions about the rise of Restore Britain, the further right party formed by sacked Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe, which now threatens to steal enough support to hand Mr Burnham the seat. But the Reform chief argued that the party's support could be entirely pinned on support from Elon Musk and accounts on X, while warning that voters will start to wake up to some of the controversial figures backing Restore. The Mail joined Nigel Farage out on the doorstep yesterday as he greeted voters According to a poll this week, one in five Brits who backed Reform UK in 2024 are now backing Mr Lowe's breakaway party. Restore's candidate, Rebecca Shepherd, was yesterday accused of 'running scared' from voters after she refused to take part in a local by-election hustings alongside the other main party candidates. Despite her party leader threatening legal action against the BBC for excluding her from last week's Question Time Makerfield special, Ms Shepherd failed to accept the invitation from the Manchester Evening News. A Reform source told the Mail: 'Restore Britain and their invisible Makerfield candidate are running scared of voters. 'After relentlessly complaining about being excluded from Question Time, it beggars belief that they've turned down the chance to make their case to the electorate.' A Restore spokesman hit back, arguing: 'Rebecca had a summit planned this afternoon with rape gang survivors and local Makerfield women, discussing our key campaign pledge - women's safety in the community. 'It was a productive discussion, with concrete steps taken away from it on how to improve women's safety on streets all over Makerfield.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. 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.