‘Labour have lost their way’: voters in Makerfield say it’s time for a change

A Reform UK sign in Hindley. Photograph: Gary Calton/The Guardian View image in fullscreen A Reform UK sign in Hindley. Photograph: Gary Calton/The Guardian ‘Labour have lost their way’: voters in Makerfield say it’s time for a change Andy Burnham and the Reform candidate lead the polls, but issues such as flooding and the state of the high street are main concerns locally The roads that connect the collection of towns and villages that make up this constituency in England are studded with turquoise banners declaring: “Makerfield needs Reform.” Once at the heart of Wigan’s coal-mining industry, and represented by a Labour MP continuously since the 1900s, Farage’s party has gained a foothold here, and with any other Labour candidate installed, this parliamentary seat would almost certainly fall to Reform. The most pertinent issues here are largely environmental ones; on New Year’s Day 2025, flooding hit several areas of the constituency, with residents forced out of their homes for months. In Bickershaw, villagers have endured a huge 25,000-tonne dump of illegal waste, and public transport is an issue – with no Metrolink tram service, it can take an hour to reach Manchester city centre on trains and buses. Yet even in the areas most affected by flooding, Reform voters are not put off by the party’s climate policies, which include scrapping net zero and ending all renewable energy subsidies. View image in fullscreen Stefan Bilski, whose ‘grandad was a migrant’, said he’d ‘probably’ vote Reform. Photograph: Gary Calton/The Guardian Stefan Bilski, a roofer, is “probably” voting Reform. His house, in the village of Abram, has seriously flooded twice – last year, and in 2015, but, he says: “I don’t think Labour have done enough [about flooding].” His vote has also been swayed by the fact, in his view, “Labour aren’t doing enough to stop all the illegal migrants coming in”. “My name’s Bilski, so my grandad was a migrant, but he came over in the war and worked down Bolton colliery,” he says. “He didn’t come asking for benefits.” A pensioner living in Bickershaw Lane says she has also been flooded twice. Asking not to be named, she says “you can’t even imagine” how difficult the experience was – she and her husband were out of their house for eight months and it has since plummeted in value. She is leaning towards voting Reform, saying Labour has “taken it for granted” for too long. She is not put off by Reform’s climate policies, adding: “This particular thing is not climate change, this is flooding. There are so many new properties being built in this area.” It is these two issues – immigration and disenchantment with Labour – that are driving voters to Reform more than any other. News stories about the views of the party’s candidate, Robert Kenyon , also appear not to have discouraged voters. In past online posts, he has said “I’m sexist, sorry but I am”, suggested women had abortions so they could “shag anyone they want”, and described gay people as “