On Thursday, voters in what has long been one of the safest Labour seats in the country will be going to the polls to decide not only who becomes their next MP, but potentially the fate of the prime minister and thus of the country. They could also be creating a vacancy for a new mayor of Manchester. For so much power to be invested in fewer than 80,000 voters in just one Greater Manchester constituency represents at once an extraordinary institutional anomaly and a profound responsibility.
The by-election in Makerfield was called after the sitting MP, Josh Simons, stepped down to give the mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham, the opportunity to return to Westminster. Formerly the MP for the nearby constituency of Leigh, Mr Burnham had made no secret that his desire to return to Westminster is because it is the necessary first step in trying to replace Sir Keir Starmer as party leader and prime minister.
