Politics LIVE: John Curtice issues dire by-election warning to Nigel Farage | Politics | News
Remaking Britain in the Makerfield byelection is “good news” for Andy Burnham, one of Britain’s leading pollsters has said. Professor Sir John Curtice said Rupert Lowe’s right-wing party was making life “much more difficult” for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party.
A new poll by Survation shows Labor ahead on 43% and Reform on 40% in the tight vote, with Restore Britain in third place on 7%.
Sir John said the by-election was “on an absolute knife’s edge” as the Mayor of Greater Manchester used his bid to return to Westminster to challenge the Prime Minister.
He told The Telegraph: “Reform appears to have succeeded in squeezing the Conservative Party vote, judging by the transfer figures.
“But Restore Britain intervenes and makes life much more difficult for the Reformation. “From Burnham’s perspective, on the one hand, Restore Britain’s intervention is certainly good news.
“On the other hand, if Reform can squeeze out those Restore votes (because they lost an eighth of their 2024 voters to Restore), it also suggests that Reform could outperform Burnham even if this poll is accurate.”
