Alexandra Topping

It was obvious that there was tactical voting going on in Makefield.

On the doorstep, our correspondents were saying that they were talking to people saying they just wanted to keep out Nigel Farage.

And in Gorton and Denton, people were kind of angry at Labour and angry at the non-reform candidates because it's like, who should we vote for?

Who do we vote for to stop Farage?

And I think we've seen that happen again in Makerfield.

And I think that will happen again in the next general election.

People will be looking to make unusual choices that they may not have done before, like Conservative voters voting for Andy Burnham because they didn't want the reform candidate.

I really think that the Guardian's reporting has shifted the dial on this.

I mean, I would say this and it's talking to our reporters.

But, you know, we reported about this huge gift from this crypto billionaire to Nigel Farage, Christopher Harbourn.

And since that point, Farage just went missing.

As political observers, we're used to seeing him on a weekly basis.

He takes as many questions as you want.

He loves being in the limelight and he's been nowhere to be seen.

I think that the sheen may have come off reform slightly.

You've seen a situation in Gorton and Denton where it felt like they very much chose the wrong candidate.

Again, in Makerfield, there was huge problems with the reform candidates' past remarks about women and just quite obviously sexist and horrible remarks that he'd made.

So I do think there is... It's really exposed some real fault lines in reform.

And they've seen a kind of attack...

from their right, from Restore, which did eat into their vote to a degree in Ashton-Makerfield.