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

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. 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”. …