THERE'S just days to go before the people of Makerfield head to the polling stations. And while campaigners are still hitting doorsteps in droves – it seemed most people in the area had already made up their minds who to vote for when we visited last week.
The picture across the constituency’s towns and villages is still ‘really mixed’, according to locals, but there’s one thing they all seem to agree on: At this stage, there’s very little that could sway their vote.
“It’s been extremely annoying actually,” said Stewart Howarth, 63, a retired council worker out walking his 11-year-old pooch, Murphey, on a community green in Abram. “Every three days someone’s knocking on my door trying to change my mind. The only ones who’ve not been round are Count Binface and the Monster Raving Loony Party.”
Mr Howarth didn’t want to disclose who he’d cast his postal vote for. But for him, the decision was less about political issues than the identities of the candidates.
“It’s the individual who I believe will get things done in a different way to the old politician’s way,” he said cryptically. “Politicians are a waste of breath – they promise everything and deliver nothing. I’m hoping this particular individual will change the way it’s done.”
The village has seen a steady decline – with little more than one pub and a run-down community club to its name. Locals have resorted to building bars in their own basements and attics, according to Mr Howarth.
Political views in Abram are very varied, the retired safety officer added, though neighbours tend to avoid talking about the subject altogether.
“We’re actually having an ‘anything but [the byelection]’ neighbour’s gathering this weekend,” he said.
Across the green, James West, another pensioner in his seventies, sheepishly admits he’s voting for ‘Andy’.
It’s a done deal, he says, as he’s also used his postal vote. Mr West, out with his rescued border collie Meg, 11, knew who he would vote for the second Burnham was allowed to run.
“I like Andy. I want him as our MP, I also want him as our Prime Minister,” he said, adding bluntly: “I think Rob Kenyon is an idiot. He doesn’t like women does he? Why people would want him in, I do not know.
“But I don’t think he’ll get in. We’re basically voting to keep Reform out, because they want to do away with the NHS. That’s bad news for us pensioners.”
Reform UK have previously denied they would start charging for NHS use, though Nigel Farage has suggested the funding model needs to be re-examined.
On the road in Bryn, growing numbers of Reform posters are cable-tied to garages, and pitched emphatically over high hedges for everyone to see.
“I get the general feeling that Reform is what people want round here,” Steve Corboz confirms. The treasurer of the Bryn Community Club lets us in early doors to talk politics. Once a Labour club, members voted to distance themselves from the party just two years ago, after a long and gradual divorce. Now members mostly carry Turquoise, according to Mr Corboz. That’s despite the fact the space is regularly used as Restore’s HQ.
“Not my decision,” Mr Corboz added. “I knew from all the beginning I’d be voting Reform. I had a look at Restore’s pamphlet, and from what I could tell they’re two miles right of Hitler. They’re too extreme for me, though I agree with some of their concerns.”
Like many people in Makerfield, Mr Corboz thinks the big issue for the area is immigration, and a sense of disillusionment with Labour.
“I hope Reform do what they say they’re gonna do, and that’s cut down on immigration,” he said. “I like Rob Kenyon, but I do think he has two problems, which is he’s not very articulate, and he ain’t been in politics before. He’s not quick with answers like some of the other candidates. But I still think he’ll be grand as an MP. Nothing will change my mind on that.”
Meanwhile Joanna Lapniewski, 64, while mopping the front entrance of the club, chimes in to say she’s been swayed by Restore throughout the pre-election period. The ex army officer, who said she ‘believed in everything they stood for’ and thinks they have a ‘better stance on women’s rights than Reform’.
“I don’t usually care about politics. They spend so much time trying to dig up dirt on each other, and I honestly just find that boring,” she said. “But I read up on Rupert Lowe and there doesn’t seem to be anything there about him and corruption or anything like that.”
Mrs Lapniewski wasn’t worried about warnings from Reform that Restore voters would ‘split the right wing vote’, adding she thought ‘everyone should vote what they believed in’.
“For me it’s about women’s rights – down to females with burkas and protecting women being gang raped. Our streets don’t feel safe anymore.”
Office for National Statistics data indicates that most types of crime has declined year on year over the past ten years, while studies have found that in 60 to 90 per cent of sexual assaults, the perpetrator is previously known to the victim, regardless of ethnicity. In the group-based sexual offences, 85 per cent of perpetrators are white, while seven per cent are Asian, and five per cent are black. With white people making up 82per cent of the population, the group is actually over-represented compared to other ethnicities, according to available ONS data.
Mrs Lapniewski said she’d never met or seen the Restore candidate, but ‘heard she was down to earth’.
She concluded: “Everybody is fed up of politics because they don’t deliver. It would be nice to see fresh ideas, fresh faces, new beliefs – some hope for the country.”
Meanwhile over in Platt Bridge, locals are popping in to Galloway’s and Greenhalgh’s for lunchtime pies. Outside one of the bakeries, Adam Rayley said he’s also been won over by Restore – though he started the pre-election period wanting to vote for Reform. Clutching a beef and salad barm, the 35-year-old roofer and born Wiganite also said he ‘didn’t know much about the candidate’ but thinks Restore has a vision for the country that aligns with his own.
“I’m not racist,” he said, a propos nothing, “But I feel like the immigrants coming in now aren’t checked. And they’re all men, they’re coming here and raping our women.
“Our borders are wide open and we’ve got our own families and homes to care for. I’m struggling myself, I’m a full-time carer for my girlfriend, and we’ve got three kids altogether. And there’s nothing for us. I do feel strongly on that.”
Once again, Mr Rayley feels nothing could change his mind at this stage – though he says he hasn’t had anyone knocking on his door apart since an ‘awkward’ encounter with a Greens campaigner during the local elections.
It’s clear that at least in Bryn, Abram, and Platt Bridge, opinions on who should become Makerfield’s MP vary greatly – but there’s one thing people seem to agree on.
“I don’t think anyone will be changing their minds at this stage,” says Lee, a Labour voter from Platt Bridge. “We’ve had weeks of this.”
Of course, there are exceptions to the rule. One lady in Bryn, who didn’t wish to be identified, said: “Honestly, I don’t even know if I’m even going to bother [voting]. They keep calling us up and putting leaflets through our door and I’m sick of the whole thing. It’s putting me off.
“But then I do always have my dad’s voice in my ear saying ‘Emily Pankhurst gave you the vote, you better use it!’.”
Pressed, the 78-year-old, who moved to Bryn from Liverpool in 1968, admitted she’d always been a staunch Labour supporter and would probably end up voting for Andy Burnham.
“But honestly, we’re disillusioned by it all. I don’t really care who gets in at this stage – I’ve got more important things to worry about. Like the garden party I’ve organised this Sunday, and whether it’s going to rain.”
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