Chris Mason

And I did an interview with him as well.

You have said that Russia was well within its rights to invade Crimea, part of Ukraine.

That'll sound to some people like you're sympathetic to Vladimir Putin.

So you've changed your mind on that?

About 10 years, 10, 12 years.

My stand back take would be, and I was talking to one of the other parties, not Labour or Reform, about this just a couple of hours ago.

My stand back take, and it gets into one of the many oddities about this contest, is that you have someone in Andy Burnham who is steeped in politics, has been in politics at a pretty high profile level one way or another for most of his adult life.

In other words, for the best part of the last 30 years, both at Westminster and in Greater Manchester, etc., etc.,

And then you have a collection of other candidates who are, frankly, just much newer to politics and certainly not politics, you know, haven't experienced politics at the kind of altitude, if you like, that Andy Burnham has.

And that poses challenges in both directions.

So it poses challenges for people like Robert Kenyon and others because they, well, they find themselves in the company of people like me, you know, and the rest of the Westminster press pack asking them all sorts of questions about issues that, yes, might be directly, have direct consequence on the communities of the Makerfield constituency and others that are much more big picture.

And then it's a challenge for Andy Burnham because, you know, not wanting to, I don't know, come across as in any way patronising towards his rivals or dealing with the political argument that's thrown in his direction by his opponents, which is that, you know, the argument that he's seeking to use this constituency as a stepping stone towards being prime minister.

And he's having to ride there or walk the tightrope, if you like, of setting out to a degree his wider ambition, which is clear, whilst also revering his...

the longevity of his connections, not just with Greater Manchester, but with this particular part of Greater Manchester.

So that's probably a broader answer than you were seeking in terms of the particular interview.

But that's kind of what I came away with.

It had taken quite a few days for me to get to do that interview.

And I think, you know, Reform are conscious of that reality, that this is a guy who's...

Even though he was there at Westminster candidate last time round and he is a local councillor now, but he's pretty new to sort of frontline public life.

It's interesting, isn't it?