With the launch of Andy Burnham's by-election campaign, Britain entered a sort of political limbo. Only six people in a hundred think Keir Starmer will still be Prime Minister after the next election, but even more uncertain is whether he will still be in No 10 in a few weeks – and if not, who will?
The electors of Makerfield find themselves in an unusual position. Those who want to oust the PM and bring down the Labour Government in its current form will have to vote… Labour.
Any who think Starmer is unfairly maligned, is doing a reasonable job in impossible circumstances and deserves more than two years in office after a decade and a half of the Tories (and such people exist in greater numbers than you might think) would be best advised to vote for Reform UK.
It is, as the philosopher said, a funny old world.
We will know in just over a fortnight if the Wigan constituency has agreed to serve as the vehicle for Burnham's ambition or whether – from despair with Labour, the lure of Reform or sheer British bloody-mindedness – they decide to throw a spanner in the works.
