On the road with Reform’s canvassing army in Makerfield: ‘Society’s future hinges on this by-election!’

They included a lifelong Labour voter who — until this month — had never participated in any political campaigning in his life, a retired Greater Manchester Police officer, a cybersecurity expert, a Londoner, and a party member from Luton knocking on doors with two broken wrists.

The political fever in Makerfield — a constituency that has been represented by Labour since its creation in 1983 — is rising following the resignation of Josh Simons, who stood down to allow Andy Burnham to return to Westminster and challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership.

The Greater Manchester Mayor’s candidacy triggered a fanfare of journalists and campaigners, both old and young, to descend on the terraced houses of Ashton and semi-detached properties in Pemberton.

"It feels like the whole future of society hinges on the result of this by-election,” a Labour source told the People’s Channel.

The vote, which is taking place on June 18, appears to be a two-horse race between Labour and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.

Mr Burnham is polling at 43 per cent with Robert Kenyon hot on his heels at 40 per cent, a recent Survation poll of more than 500 residents revealed.

But exactly who are the “People’s Army” battling the unpredictable British weather to persuade the 44,000 households of Makerfield to vote baby blue?

This week, Britain’s News Channel gained exclusive access to the frontline of Reform UK’s campaign trail.

Graham, who historically backed Labour, was moved to act following Labour's drubbing in this month’s local elections, which saw the party hold Wigan Council but lose all 22 seats it was defending to Reform UK.

"It's still a Labour town," Graham commented. "It's been Labour for 120 years. They used to weigh the vote in Labour's terms. But now things are changing where we're from."

One of the biggest issues facing the community, Graham claimed, was immigration.

He said: "When I walk into the town centre, and I see all these migrants who've come across on boats, they're coming out of hotels, and they're just sitting in the town centre.

"If you're here illegally, you shouldn't be here. That's it, the end of it."

Mr Simons said last year he had been "assured" by the Home Office no more asylum hotels were going to open in the area.

Graham’s anxieties are likely to be felt across Labour’s “Red Wall”.

When asked whether he thought change was coming, Graham was emphatic.

“It has to, because if it doesn't, we're done — the country as a whole," he said.

However, Graham's fear about immigration also raised the prospect of a huge demographic shift in Britain.

"I'll be long dead, but I think it'll turn into an Islamic state," he said.

“Egypt used to be a Christian country, so did Jordan and other places around the Middle East. They're not anymore."

Graham's concerns echoed those expressed by Mr Farage. Greater Manchester alone has seen rapid demographic changes over the last decade, with the non-white population growing by 51.9 per cent between 2011 and 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Mr Farage, who had warned about "sectarian voting" in the nearby Gorton and Denton by-election in February, told GB News in 2024 he was "very concerned" whole areas of UK towns and cities are becoming "unrecognisable as being English”, including Oldham, which is just 30 miles away from Makerfield.

Walking down what could only be described as the most quintessentially British suburban street – semi-detached houses, neatly trimmed hedges, wheelie bins and wide pavements – Reform UK's Notting Hill recruit, Sue, explained bluntly why she had made the trip up north.

“To keep Keir Starmer the useful idiot…in place,” she said.

The Londoner continued: "Keir Starmer prevents the hard-left candidates (from) coming into power – this would mean pure socialism, more welfare, more debt, more immigration.

“More of the same but a lot worse."

On Reform UK's Makerfield candidate, Mr Kenyon, the local plumber-turned-politician, Sue was approving despite never having set foot in the area before.

"Robert is totally invested in the community, unlike Andy Burnham, who is using this area as a springboard to get back to Westminster,” she commented.

However, Reform UK’s local lad came under fire earlier this week over his past comments, including one in which he dubbed abortion a "cowardly act of murder". He was also urged to apologise to Carol Vorderman over what she described as "disgusting comments" made about her on his X account.

Self-proclaimed as “rough around the edges” and “not a polished politician”, Mr Kenyon recently admitted he “wasn’t perfect” and “no offence was meant” over his social media musings about the broadcaster.

However, Reform UK is sticking with Mr Kenyon after he “declared his accounts during the vetting process, as everyone is expected to".

The debacle left Sue unfazed, describing Mr Kenyon as "authentic" and "good for the area”.

Canvassing for would-be politicians is not for the faint-hearted: in the early 20th century, The Times in 1906 described canvassing as "wrong, antiquated and, for the most part, supremely futile".

Despite calls for the practice to be banned and the rise of targeted digital campaigns, canvassing has endured and remained largely true to its traditions. Volunteers are often met with doors slammed in their faces, awkward silences or outright hostility while handing out campaign materials.

Besides unpredictable weather, volunteers can be met with doors slammed in their faces, awkward silences or outright hostility.

In Makerfield, there is also the particular challenge of voter exhaustion.

Local elections were held just over a fortnight ago. Now residents find themselves facing another campaign.

Graham had a name for it – "election fatigue”.

He said: "It has been two and a half weeks since the local election, and now we have got it again, and a lot of people say, 'Oh Jesus, it's them lot again.' They don't open the door to anybody if that is the case."

Reform UK canvassers previously landed the party in hot water after Channel 4 News exposed volunteers making offensive comments in Mr Farage’s Clacton constituency.

Mr Farage responded to the incident at the time, claiming one canvasser's racist comments were a “total set-up”.

One Makerfield canvasser who was up against it physically was Norman from Luton, sporting two wrist supports because he had broken both while working.

“He’s tougher than the rest,” Norman proclaimed, raising his strapped-up hands in the air while donning a boater straw hat, emblematic of his hometown.

Norman, who has been canvassing for Reform UK for almost six years, told GB News his ward still uses the original leaflet because “our message is still the same”.

While walking along the road, Norman reminisced about when he first engaged with the party down in Bedfordshire.

"We were at zero in the beginning, and then leafleting and canvassing saw us grow a couple of percentage points in the polls locally," he said.

"A friend and I were talking back then about when Reform UK will be in power – it felt like a dream then, but reality is now starting to come true."

When asked how Reform UK’s surging popularity made him feel, Norman did not ponder his reply.

"Vindicated," he said. “Energised."

John, a retired police officer, also appeared invigorated on the campaign trail. "I try to do at least three hours a day," he said.

When asked why he was so committed to the cause, John added: “The lies and deceit of Keir Starmer stink."

John, who worked at an asylum detention centre in Salford when Sir Tony Blair was in power, recalled a time when the UK “did things by the book and took control”.

Carol, a cybersecurity expert, had a slightly different perspective.

The first-time canvasser told Britain’s News Channel: "This has been so eye-opening. I've never done anything like this before, but I feel like it's giving me a purpose."

Having lived in New Zealand for 13 years, Carol returned just after Britain left the European Union and noticed things were “very, very different”.

“At first, it was the issue with the EU and Brexit, and then it spiralled into political distrust,” she said.

Carol said she liked Reform UK because Mr Farage has long proposed introducing proportional representation, which is used in New Zealand.

“That means everybody gets a seat at the table, making the political system fairer,” she said.

However, Mr Farage has since watered down his commitment to introduce electoral reform.

"Until we have elections that aren't corrupted," Mr Farage said ahead of May 7, "I think we should leave those debates for later”.

Despite Mr Farage’s remarks, Carol does not appear dissuaded following her return from the Antipodes.

She concluded: "I'm doing this because something has got to change.”

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