Reform’s defeat in Makerfield is a blessing in disguise
Nick Tyrone
Reform’s defeat in Makerfield is a blessing in disguise
- Friday, June 19, 2026, 6:35 AM
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Nick Tyrone
Reform’s defeat in Makerfield is a blessing in disguise
In what now seems like an inevitability, Andy Burnham not only won the Makerfield by-election, he did so comfortably. After weeks of hearing about how it was going to be a close race between the Labour candidate and Reform’s Robert Kenyon, Burnham triumphed by more than 9,000 votes.
Andy Burnham will now be prime minister. He will likely be as bad at the job as Keir Starmer
Some – including Jawad Iqbal on Coffee House – have pounced on this result as a disaster for Reform. It was unquestionably another example of Reform’s poor expectation management. Nigel Farage’s party approached Makerfield with a sense of entitlement, as if they couldn’t lose. Yet lose they did. Despite this, we might look back on the Makerfield defeat as a turning point in Reform’s fortunes.
It is now highly likely that Andy Burnham will be prime minister within the next few weeks, or even days. As Keir Starmer struggles to cling on to his job, there will be chaos within the Labour party. Expect multiple cabinet resignations, and the grim spectre of Starmer looking increasingly desperate and deluded.
But once he gets the keys to Number 10, Burnham will find his honeymoon to be very short-lived. It will soon become apparent that Labour has foisted on us a prime minister in the middle of a parliament, with no real mandate for anything he does – and no real plan for change.
Burnham could be as unpopular as Starmer by the end of the year. As Burnham’s promises fail to materialise, this could provide Farage and his party with a much bigger advantage than simply winning a by-election could have ever done. A Burnham premiership may well pave the way for a Reform government.
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Who stands to gain in the pistachio wars?Too many Westminster pundits still misread what is happening with Reform. They often think that Reform must win every contest to have any chance of becoming the party with the most seats after the next general election. This blinds them to what is really unfolding in front of their eyes.
Reform is a party that is still coming together, still finding its way. Inevitably, as a result, the party is making mistakes along the way, but we shouldn’t forget, despite the defeat in Makerfield overnight, that Reform is still growing at a rate that is unprecedented in British political history. Reform have almost 2,500 councillors, and they have gained almost all of them across only two sets of local elections. If they have a similar sort of result to what they achieved last month in 2027, Reform will be the largest party in local government in the United Kingdom. And they will have achieved that from a standing start in only three years.
There were two other by-elections yesterday, both in Scotland: Aberdeen South and Arbroath and Broughty Ferry. In Aberdeen, the Conservative Party won big, getting almost 50 per cent of the vote. The Tories don’t have many opportunities to crow these days, so expect a lot of hype around how the Conservative Party has magically regenerated and that Kemi Badenoch is now on track to be the next prime minister after Burnham.
Don’t believe a word of it. The result in Aberdeen South simply shows us what the local election results did a month-and-a-half ago: that the Conservatives are becoming a party that can still win in certain parts of the country, under ideal conditions for them, but are pretty much dead everywhere else. In Makerfield, the Tories lost their deposit and came third among the right-of-centre parties in the running.
In Aberdeen, the Tories were able to win, partly through being the best placed in terms of the big local issue – jobs related to North Sea oil and gas – but mostly because, as in the English local elections, the Tories were able to capture the declining Labour vote almost fully. It isn’t that different to what happened in Westminster or Harrow last month, where the Tories gained at the expense of Labour in places with too small a Reform vote to matter.
In Arbroath, you could see this play out in a way that was not conducive to the Conservatives. The SNP not only won, they increased their vote share in the constituency by almost six per cent as compared to the general election. As happened in Aberdeen, the Labour vote plummeted, only this time the Tories weren’t the big benefactors of this, with Reform greatly increasing their vote share.
Andy Burnham will now be prime minister. He will likely be as bad at the job as Keir Starmer, burning the Labour party’s last remaining hope of avoiding electoral meltdown come the next general election.
Aberdeen South is a false dawn for the Conservative Party, simply demonstrating what we already knew about this dwindling party from the local elections. These results will be used to try and spin a story around how two-party politics as we knew it has finally reasserted itself, with Reform sidelined and Labour versus the Tories being the main event once again. Don’t believe a word of it.
Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
Venezuela Fury and Noah Price subsidising their life by livestreaming
Venezuela Fury and her husband Noah Price look to be making their own way in the world by raking it in from their lucrative social media accounts.
The influencer daughter of Tyson and Paris Fury, 16, has become an internet sensation after tying the knot with her husband Noah, 19, earlier this year.
Since getting married and moving in together the couple have been earning thousands of pounds a month, livestreaming their life as newlyweds in their static caravan in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
And fans can't get enough of their regular life updates on TikTok and Kick, which have proved to be very profitable for the pair.
They look to be supporting themselves after Noah denied that he was given £5million by Venezuela's family as a wedding gift.
Despite his wife's huge family wealth, an estimated combined £160 million, Noah recently told his Kick followers that he 'pays for everything' for the couple.
Making light of the claims about Venezuela's millionaire financial status, Noah said: 'I actually pay for everything unfortunately. You'd expect the millionaire to pay for it wouldn't you.'
Venezuela Fury and Noah Price are earning thousands livestreaming their caravan life - after her new groom insisted he pays all the bills and denied he had £5m handout from her dad
The influencer daughter of Tyson and Paris Fury , 16, has become an internet sensation after tying the knot with her husband Noah, 19, earlier this year
Venezuela then asked their fans: 'Do you think I am a millionaire?'
Noah joked: 'She isn't a secret millionaire guys', before she broke into song and sang: 'But I live like a millionaire!'
But it seems according to estimated calculations from their social media work, Noah and Venezuela can more than afford to support themselves.
Noah has been livestreaming on platforms such as Kick and TikTok, where viewers can send paid gifts or donations.
He was previously encouraging viewers to send gifts on his honeymoon during livestreams, suggesting this is one revenue stream.
Both Noah and Venezuela have built substantial followings on Instagram and TikTok. They can potentially earn money through sponsored posts, brand collaborations, affiliate links and creator payouts.
Kick allows its creators to take home 95 per cent of the £4.99 subscription cost that fans pay.
Streamers keep 100 per cent of direct tips and donations, minus minor standard payment processing fees.
It is unclear how many subscribers Noah currently has because this information is hidden, but he does have 7,200 followers which is publicly viewable.
An industry insider has suggested Noah is making around £400 per video on TikTok, while Venezuela is likely to make £2,000 due to her following count of 1.3 million.
An industry insider has suggested Noah is making around £400 per video on TikTok, while Venezuela is likely to make £2,000 due to her following count of 1.3 million
In one video on their honeymoon, Noah asked his followers if they'd give them some more gifts now that they were married.
In a TikTok live viewed by 20,000 he said: 'Keep liking our videos people, keep sending gifts.'
After saying thank you to several of his followers he joked they should stick around on the livestream and 'watch Venezuela punch me in the mouth'.
The other half of the honeymooning couple said: 'I am, honestly!'
Noah previously confirmed that the pair don't share their finances after they were asked whether they have a shared bank account.
'She earns her money, I earn mine,' said Noah, as Venezuela joked: 'Yeah, what you gonna do about it.'
Noah went on to debunk the rumour that Tyson gave him £5million when he tied the knot with his daughter as he insisted: 'No Tyson did not give me £5million'.
Meanwhile Venezuela is being eyed up by executives for a fly on the wall TV series.
Noah went on to debunk the rumour that Tyson gave him £5million when he tied the knot with his daughter as he insisted: 'No Tyson did not give me £5million'
Boasting 1.3 million TikTok followers, Venezuela is already entertaining fans with her honest musings and candid moments, from cooking to kitting out her and Noah's static caravan home.
And following the success of the Netflix series At Home With The Furys, it is no wonder bosses are wanting to draw on the Fury popularity.
A TV insider said: 'The couple are not A-list celebrities but everyone has become obsessed with their love story.
'People are genuinely intrigued by them. Whether it’s the fact they have married so young, Venezuela’s famous family or their gypsy lifestyle, they have the ‘X factor'.
'Several TV executives think a proper fly-on-the-wall series following their lives as newlyweds in the gypsy community would be fascinating,' they told The Sun.
It is thought Netflix would be likely to produce the series due to their already established relationship with the Furys.
Venezuela's representatives told The Daily Mail: 'We have many offers on the table regarding Venezuela which we are discussing.'
