The upcoming Makerfield by-election

Did anyone watch Question Time on BBC1 on Thursday? I did. On the panel, amongst others, were Andy Burnham and Robert Kenyon the Reform candidate. I actually felt sorry for the latter, (leaving aside the revelations about the murkier side of his comments in the recent past which were quite disturbing) he seemed totally out of his depth poor lad and on times quite inarticulate. He would make a good local councillor as he clearly has a passion for the local people and the area that he grew up in, and still lives in, but as an M.P...uhm. I know the argument is that we need more “ordinary” people in Parliament rather than career politicians but in this case…?

I think after Kenyon’s performance Burnham will very likely win this by-election, especially as Restore are fielding a candidate which will split the Reform vote. If that is the outcome it will be interesting to see if Burnham will be seen much in the constituency or will he be devoting his time and energy into a leadership campaign?

Me personally, i think Reform have had their day in the sun. By time the next general election comes along, they will drop off and start to become a distant memory.
The performance of both Labour and Conservatives has been woeful and getting worse for a long time. So bad, that large chunks of the public have become so disillusioned, they have wandered into political territory that only the desperate would do.
Both major parties now have the chance to re aline themselves with the public, and get a grip on modern day Britain and the kind of leadership that the people both need a want.