‘Is it really as close as it looks?’ - your questions on the Makerfield byelection answered
https://www.theguardian.com/community/live/2026/jun/17/reader-qa-ask-reporter-hannah-al-othman-anything-about-the-makerfield-byelectionTomorrow is Andy Burnham’s day of destiny as he seeks to return to parliament in a bid to become prime minister. Our North of England correspondent Hannah Al-Othman answered your questions – read the Q&A below.
ruthj70 asks: Should I go and volunteer to support Labour tomorrow, or have people in Makerfield had enough of people knocking on their doors?
Hannah: I think that question is probably best answered by the Labour Party, but I’d imagine they wouldn’t say no! People may generally be a bit fed up with people knocking on their doors – but I think they probably expect it will happen on polling day.
Hannah: The ticket he is standing on is mostly based around local policies. He has pledged: to build new flooding infrastructure, build a new link road, and to clear that toxic waste dump in Bickershaw that I wrote about last weekend. He’s also promised a new health centre, pharmacy and GP surgery in various parts of the constituency, and to save a local library. Burnham has also said he’ll fight a controversial housing development that some people locally are opposing, due to a potential loss of green belt countryside and destruction of ancient trees.
The main local issues I’ve found in the constituency are environmental ones such as flooding, transport issues, and public services, as well as a general sense that the area has been neglected and the high streets have become run down. Burnham’s ticket seems to be broadly designed to appeal to these local concerns.
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