Makerfield By-election Explodes: High-Profile Backing and Political Battle Lines Drawn!

The Makerfield by-election, scheduled for Thursday, June 18, has become a focal point of political contention, with Labour's Andy Burnham bidding to return to parliament from the Wigan seat. Should he win, the Greater Manchester Mayor has indicated his intention to enter any potential Labour leadership contest. His primary rival is Robert Kenyon, the candidate for Reform UK, whose campaign has drawn considerable scrutiny and controversy.

Central to the recent storm around Kenyon is his welcoming of an endorsement from Ant Middleton, the controversial former Special Boat Service sniper and presenter of SAS: Who Dares Wins. Kenyon posted a video with Middleton, captioning it: "Great to have the endorsement of one of my heroes @antmiddleton." In the video, Middleton described Kenyon as "the only candidate you must vote" and urged people to "vote with (their) heads" and "vote strategically," in an apparent attempt to attract voters from the right-wing Restore Britain party.

This endorsement immediately reignited discussion of Middleton's past; in 2013, he was sentenced to 14 months in prison after being convicted of the unlawful wounding of a male police officer and the common assault of a female officer following a nightclub incident. Middleton later told The Mirror in 2015 that he was "filled with remorse" and "ashamed" by his actions, apologizing to the officers involved. He insisted on X, in response to comments from Labour MP Anna Turley, that he had "never laid a finger on a woman, let alone a female police officer," though he acknowledged the female officer had feared for her safety during the incident.

Carol Vorderman, the former Countdown presenter, has been a vocal critic of Kenyon, linking his acceptance of Middleton's support to his own controversial past comments. In December 2021, after a social media user directed a crude sexual remark at Vorderman, Kenyon allegedly replied that the man was "only saying what we're all thinking." Vorderman described Kenyon as a "little coward" and highlighted a "pattern of online abuse, trying to belittle women." She wrote a letter to 6,000 women in the constituency, urging them to consider if Kenyon was the right representative, and stating, "As women, we should not have to accept a culture where disrespectful or misogynistic attitudes are dismissed as ‘banter’ or brushed aside as irrelevant."

Labour party chair Anna Turley MP also weighed in, criticizing Reform by stating, "Farage's Reform have no shame. Their last by-election candidate was endorsed by Tommy Robinson and now Rob Kenyon is delighted to have the backing of a man who was jailed for assaulting two police officers." Turley asserted that Middleton "should be nowhere near any political party," contrasting Kenyon's "scandal" with Andy Burnham's focus on uniting communities and attracting investment.

New polling data, exclusively released by the Manchester Evening News, suggests the controversies have impacted Kenyon's standing. The survey places Andy Burnham on 46 percent, a five percent lead over Kenyon's 41 percent. Crucially, when voters were asked if candidates' actions or statements made them more or less likely to offer support, Kenyon recorded a net score of minus eight points, with 30 percent indicating they were less likely to vote for him, compared to 22 percent who were more likely.

In his defense, Kenyon previously told the M.E.N. that "no offence was meant" regarding his comment about Vorderman, describing it as "a crude attempt at a joke." He admitted, "I’m not a polished politician. I am rough around the edges. I have made mistakes in my life." When asked to apologize, he responded, "I think I’ve addressed the issue," adding that similar comments could be heard "a hundred times worse" in local building sites or public barracks. Reform UK has defended Kenyon, characterizing Ms. Vorderman as "a left-wing bad faith actor" and arguing that voters are more concerned with issues like women's safety, immigration, and public services, believing Kenyon's direct style makes him "a straight-talking, effective voice for normal working people."

Meanwhile, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has expressed her support for Andy Burnham's potential return to Westminster. Appearing on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg and Sky News, Nandy, a close friend of Burnham, highlighted the alignment between his message in Makerfield and her own political convictions. While welcoming his potential contribution to the government and backing his arguments on welfare spending and defence, she stressed that Labour must avoid distraction by leadership speculation, urging the party to focus on winning the by-election on Thursday before uniting as a team to address serious issues.