See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy JAMES TAPSFIELD, UK POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 07:55 BST, 24 May 2026 | Updated: 14:37 BST, 24 May 2026
Nigel Farage has urged the Right to unite behind Reform to 'stop Andy Burnham' as a poll showed the Makerfield by-election on a knife edge.The first survey of the contest put the Greater Manchester Mayor on 43 per cent, with Nigel Farage's party close behind on 40 per cent.But that gap was smaller than the 7 per cent support detected for Restore Britain - set up by former Reform MP Rupert Lowe - while the Tories were on 2 per cent. Mr Farage said the Survation findings exposed a 'two-horse race' in the Brexit-backing seat, suggesting voters now need to get behind his party. 'Robert Kenyon is the only candidate who can stop Andy Burnham. This is a two horse race - nobody else comes close,' he said.The parties have been ramping up their efforts this weekend, with less than a month until the vote on June 18. The tightness of the numbers reflects big personal bounce for Mr Burnham - with Labour seen as losing to Reform by a 11 point margin without him as the candidate.
The first poll of the contest put Labour on 43 per cent support, with Reform on 40 per cent as Andy Burnham (pictured) bids to return to the CommonsPublic opinion is notoriously hard to sample in by-elections, so the poll underlines that the outcome is too close to call. Several Tory MPs have already called for a pact with Mr Farage's party at the by-election.However, Kemi Badenoch has again ruled out 'any deals' with Reform. Mr Lowe trumpeted an endorsement from Elon Musk this morning as he pledged to 'intensify' campaigning in the seat.In contrast, so far Mr Burnham looks to be benefiting from relatively low support for the Greens and Lib Dems. The Greens suffered a major blow last week when their candidate quit after sharing a post calling an arson attack on Jewish ambulances in London a 'false flag' operation.The mayor is hoping that his local 'star power' can overcome the wider misery for Labour, after one of his allies dramatically quit to hand him a route back to Parliament. On Friday Mr Burnham painted his bid to return to the House of Commons as an opportunity to get rid of Keir Starmer.He said victory would mean 'changing Labour', with the widespread expectation he would mount a quick challenge for the keys to No10.However, Mr Burnham has been coming under increasing scrutiny over what direction he would take the Government.He has already backed off his pledge to rejoin the EU - a view popular among MPs but regarded as deeply unhelpful in an area that heavily endorsed Brexit.Mr Burnham was believed to have told Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood he supports her tough immigration crackdown. However, he has now wavered on whether changes to indefinite leave to remain should be retrospective - regarded as crucial for addressing the wave of arrivals from recent years. Critics have also accused Mr Burnham of watering down his commitment to a proportional representation - PR - voting system. Other policies floated by the mayor in the past include increasing the top rate of tax to 50p, while he has praised Gordon Brown's disastrous 10p tax rate. But that was effectively ruled out during this Parliament by his comments on Friday, when he formally launched his campaign. 'I am committed to the manifesto commitments on tax. I think that's really important from the trust, from the trust point of view,' Mr Burnham said. Nigel Farage said the contest was a 'two horse race'. Reform's candidate is Robert Kenyon, left He has also suggested that 'wealth' would be shifted from the South to the North of England, with fears a council tax overhaul and 'land value tax' could leave millions of families with bigger bills.Caveating the poll, Survation said: 'The period covered reflects a volatile candidate picture - the Green candidate entering and withdrawing from the contest - as well as Restore Britain's entry, and was conducted largely prior to Andy Burnham's campaign launch Friday May 22.'Former business secretary Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg previously called for the Conservatives to make a quid pro quo pact with Reform to stand aside for each other at the by-elections in Makerfield and Aberdeen South.Sir Jacob urged both parties to put the 'interests of the country ahead of narrower party-political interests' in order to 'fend off the very Left-wing prospect that is in sight'.
