Last Wednesday I went up to Makerfield to do a bit of on-the-ground research into what voters there really make of Burnham, Kenyon, and whoever it is that’s standing for Rupert Lowe. To do so, I went from pub to pub in search of unguarded moments and in vino veritas. I have family just outside Warrington, ten miles up the road from Makerfield, and have lost more money than I care to count at Haydock Park Racecourse, on the border of the neighbouring seat of St Helen’s North, so I did not arrive entirely unfamiliar with the local area.
I pulled into Wigan North Western just before ten in the morning, early enough to make it before the pubs opened. From the station, I took a taxi to Ashton, the largest settlement in the seat. My driver was a lovely man called Ian, who lived in the constituency on a road that served as the border between Wigan, Greater Manchester, and Lancashire.
I chatted to a few other 10.30 punters, who spoke about ‘our Andy’ with genuine warmth. All of them said they had voted Reform in the local elections, but were going to vote for Burnham on Thursday.
We were making the usual cab small talk when Ian suddenly burst out with: ‘and another thing. We need to stop these people coming across our borders.’ Ah, I thought, leaning forward a little. Fantastic. I had not even reached the pub and already copy-worthy conversation had found me. ‘Which people do you mean?’ I asked. ‘These cabs coming over from Wolverhampton into Wigan,’ he said. ‘They’re illegally operating.’
