Despite this, he’s facing a dwindling number of volunteers and donors – a symptom, as he puts it, of a town “left to fester” in economic strife.<\/p>\n
“The only thing that anybody around here feels that our children are worthy of is working in warehousing,” Webster says.<\/p>\n
The right type of re-industrialisation, he says, could be the antidote. “Why have we not got computer-science jobs around there?” he asks. “If we’re looking at industrialisation, why have we not got military tech?”<\/p>\n
While the noise of the by-election pricks everyone’s ears, Mark and his fellow constituents have their views on loudspeaker. “For once, this is about us and what we need,” he says. “It’s the only chance we’ll ever get.”<\/p>\n
Equally, this by-election presents a number of political opportunities, as well as risks.<\/p>\n
“It’s a proxy prime ministerial election in a sense,” says Rob Ford, professor of political science at the University of Manchester.<\/p>\n
A victory for Burnham would signal that he’s capable of beating Reform UK in a tight race – an ability, he would argue, that is vital for any Labour leader to possess. <\/p>\n
A win for Reform UK would give the party more momentum and leave Labour – and Burnham’s ambitions – in disarray. “That’s why the stakes are so high,” says Ford.<\/p>\n
It is often said that all politics is local. That phrase does not strictly apply to the extraordinary circumstances in Makerfield, where the local has collided with the national in spectacular fashion.<\/p>\n