On the face of it, Burnley should be one of the dullest contests in the general election. Keir Starmer’s party is sailing to victory in the Lancashire town described as Labour’s most winnable seat, according to the polls.
One forecast has given Labour a 94% chance of winning. Another predicts a 1997-style majority, replacing another brick in its red wall. On this basis, Antony Higginbotham, Burnley’s first Conservative MP in a century, may as well bin the leaflets and head straight to the jobcentre.
