Burnham batters Reform - next stop Number 10?
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This is a global production.
He's turning on reform that they can't now win by elections. They've reached probably the peak of their support and it's going down.
He is furious with the way that Burnham is behaving.
How did Andy Burnham achieve a significant victory in the Makerfield by-election?
He doesn't believe that he's serious. He doesn't believe that his policies are serious. He doesn't believe that he's got a real program. He thinks he's just vibes.
We found one person, weirdly, who liked Keir Starmer so much they were voting reform.
Force a contest where everyone is ripping each other apart and for which I suspect the Labour Party will find very little forgiveness from the electorate.
And I mean it. The word make a field in the future must be known as a byword for the change that came to British politics. This is the moment.
What are Keir Starmer's reactions to Burnham's victory and its implications?
We've been on a path for 40 years that simply hasn't worked. for people and places in this part of the world. And this now is the change moment. We have an opportunity to turn the tide, to make the country feel like it's working again, to make people see that politics can make a positive difference, to make people feel hope again. That is the main thing I think we need in this country right now, for people to feel a sense of hope.
Get used to that voice, because you might just be listening to Britain's next Prime Minister. Andy Burnham won more votes last night than all the other parties put together. Does that make his rise to the top job now look inevitable?
Well, not if Keir Starmer has his way. He has warned that a leadership challenge will tear apart our country and our movement. But 100 Labour MPs have now publicly called on him to go. Is anyone listening to the Prime Minister anymore? Welcome to the Newsagents.
Why is the Labour Party facing challenges after the by-election results?
The Newsagents.
It's John.
It's Meatless.
It's Lewis. And Andy Burnham, as you will have heard already, didn't just win the Makerfield by-election. He stormed the Makerfield by-election. He exceeded all expectations, frankly, of what most analysts and his fellow politicians and Labour Party members thought was possible. Just to run you through the figures. Burnham got nearly 25,000 votes. That is an absolute majority of those who voted of nearly 55%. That is up 10%, nearly 10 percentage points, on the general election performance. Now, bear in mind that the general election performance obviously took place in the context of an overall Labour landslide. And this by-election, two years later, is taking place in the context of Labour being at their lowest sustained point in the polls in living memory, arguably ever.
And so for Burnham to achieve that, to face those political headwinds in a seat which reformed, don't listen to their spin this morning. They're saying, oh, it was always been a Labour seat. This was always a tough battle for us. It was their 13th target seat. They barely needed much of a swing at all to take it. where Labour nationally, as I say, is doing so badly. I think it is proof positive, proof of concept, that only Andy Burnham, with his peculiar and particular political profile and political purchase in that part of the world, could have won it. Remember, one other fact. Only six weeks ago, six weeks ago, in this same constituency, in these same wards, Reform got over 50% of the vote. Six weeks later, just after the Labour Party was wiped out, Burnham, as I say, is getting 50%.
It is a 23-point swing. And this is why Labour MPs, who only six weeks ago had something of a near-death sort of political experience, they're now looking at Burnham and thinking, my word, have we actually found the medicine?
Yeah. And it's worth looking at what has happened to some of the other parties overnight to get a real picture of just how the electorate in those various towns of Makerfield chose to vote because the Conservatives lost their deposit. The Lib Dems got around 150 votes.
You're kind of in friends and family territory, aren't you?
Yeah, just I think slightly more than Count Binface and the Greens also very small numbers. But I think to think that this is a sign that they didn't do well themselves is to miss the point.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:02–0:15
2
How did Andy Burnham achieve a significant victory in the Makerfield by-election?
0:15–0:46
3
What are Keir Starmer's reactions to Burnham's victory and its implications?
0:46–1:56
4
Why is the Labour Party facing challenges after the by-election results?
1:56–6:32
5
What does Burnham's success indicate about the future of the Labour Party?
6:32–16:48
6
How do other parties' performances reflect on the current political landscape?
16:48–26:01
7
What strategies might Burnham employ if he becomes Prime Minister?
26:01–30:50
8
How could a leadership contest impact the Labour Party's stability?
30:50–41:52
Speakers
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