Robert Crampton on the Makerfield by-election (The Times)

***13 per cent*** of Makerfield voters still undecided: still a lot to squeeze Favourability scores: - Burnham 7 - Kenyon -16 - Farage -19 - Starmer -48 Full story: thetimes.com/uk/politics/art…

Any update?

TIMES EXCLUSIVE: NEW MAKERFIELD POLL BURNHAM 45% REFORM 40% RESTORE 8% More in Common/UCL Policy Lab, 28 May-12 June, 515 adults thetimes.com/uk/politics/art…

Makerfield: it’s where my late mum grew up & a place I visited often as a girl. In our focus group this wk, it’s clear there’s little love lost for Starmer’s Lab. If Burnham wins, it’ll be his personal brand that carries it My report & @JoshGafson1 film👇🏻 news.sky.com/story/little-lo…

Biggest all-nighter in Wigan for 45 years next week #NorthernSoul #Makerfieldbyelection #WiganCasino

The bottom line tonight is that the military establishment didn’t win the argument with Labour cabinet and MPs that they needed to cut spending, raise borrowing, raise taxes or cut welfare to fund higher defence spending. Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves do not agree with John Healey even now, and while I’m sure mast Labour MPs would like to raise defence spending more, there’s no consensus what gives to achieve this.

🚨 BREAKING: Keir Starmer has appointed Dan Jarvis as the new Defence Secretary

On course to win the most government resignations during a World Cup at least.

New: Al Carns has resigned

RT @BelTel: Fact checker: All you need to know around immigration and crime in Northern Ireland. Swipe through the graphics to find out mor…

Quiet political times but we’re expanding the Politics and IR department anyway. 5 jobs here: jobs.ac.uk/job/DRW437/lectur…

It is hard to see how anyone, including Al Carns, could accept the defence secretary's job in these circumstances

🚨 WATCH: A house is set on fire in Belfast after a Sudanese migrant was charged over the attempted beheading of a man

Greater negativity than positivity towards immigration straddles the old divide in NI - a consistent finding across NI general election studies.

Makerfield By-Election Update: survation.com/makerfield-by-… Survation conducted a new poll of the Makerfield constituency. Fieldwork was conducted by telephone among 518 adults in the constituency between 26th May and 1st June 2026. A combination of landline and mobile data were used. Methodology Statement Population Sampled: All residents aged 18 living in the Makerfield parliamentary constituency. Total Sample Size: 518 Data Collection Method: Telephone interview. A combination of landline and mobile data were used. Fieldwork Dates: 26th May – 1st June 2026 Data Weighting: Data were weighted to the profile of all adults in Makerfield constituency aged 18 . Data were weighted by age, sex, ward and 2024 General Election vote. Targets for the weighted data were derived from Office for National Statistics data and the results of the 2024 UK General Election. Margin of Error: Because only a sample of the full population was interviewed, all results are subject to a margin of error. For example, in a question where 50% gave a particular answer, with a sample of 518 it is 95% certain that the “true” value would fall within 4.8 percentage points of the sample result. Headline by-election voting intention - Table V2 (likelihood-weighted, undecided/refused removed, no squeeze): Candidate / Party / Vote share Andy Burnham - Labour 49% Robert Kenyon - Reform UK 39% Rebecca Shepherd - Restore Britain 8% Sarah Wakefield - Green Party 2% Jake Austin - Liberal Democrat 1% Michael Winstanley - Conservative 1% Another party <1% Base: likely voters, factored by likelihood to vote, with undecided and refused voters removed Data tables are available here: cdn.survation.com/wp-content…

NEW: Andy Burnham confirms the Makerfield elephant in the room, that he’ll challenge Sir Keir Starmer if he wins: “Wes Streeting seems to have launched a leadership contest, so if that is running, I would seek to join it,” he tells @bbcquestiontime

To the three students asking me this morning what’s going to happen on 18th June: I’m going to miss Royal Ascot the day after. That’s what’s going to happen😡 #Makerfield