Labour after Makerfield

Belated congratulations to Andy Burnham. As Simon rightly observes, Makerfield was an extraordinary by-election result. An increase in the size of the incumbent governing party's majority barely a month after Reform stomped over the constituency and won over 50% in the local elections. An exercise in solidifying a social democratic majority behind a Labour Party that has spent the last six years stymieing Labourist aspirations, pushing against working class interests, and doing its damnedest to disperse it as an electoral bloc. It also defied all expectations that forecast a tight contest, if not a defeat for Burnham. In the end, Labour won an absolute majority on an increased turnout. Most of those who turned up and voted knew what the stakes were and responded by sending back someone down to Parliament pledged to resolve them. Extraordinary results require extraordinary circumstances. That was the real story of Makerfield. The local and regional party understood this was less about…