A bitter row has erupted between Nigel Farage and his former colleague-turned-arch-nemesis Rupert Lowe – and it could hand Andy Burnham a path to Westminster.
Days of furious public jousting on social media between the two men have laid bare the tensions on the right of UK politics ahead of the Makerfield by-election on 18 June.
The seat has been held by Labour since its creation, and Burnham, the Greater Manchester Mayor, is hoping to win it as a springboard to challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership.
Shorts
Reform UK are polling strongly in the seat and could block Burnham’s path to power. But with Restore Britain – Lowe’s new political party – also fielding a candidate, pollsters say there is a risk the right-wing vote will split and hand victory to Labour.
