Certainly, less glamourous and hopefully less corrupt, the forthcoming Makerfield by-election could hold a prize for the sector as sought after as a reasonably priced entry ticket to the World Cup finals.
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Makerfield, which is part of Greater Manchester, may be a small constituency, but it is now the backdrop to one of the biggest political battles in our recent history.
On the right there’s Nigel Farage’s Reform party, here represented by Robert Kenyon, a problematic plumber who appears to harbour some deeply troubling misogynistic views.
Rejuvenating high streets
They themselves are being outflanked on the far right by Rupert Lowe’s Restore party, which is supported by that true bastion of British values, Elon Musk.
On the left there is just one candidate with a realistic shot at supremacy. And thanks to that split on the right, Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, is currently leading the race to be Makerfield’s next MP, a trajectory that would almost certainly take him all the way to Downing Street and install him as Britain’s next Prime Minister.
For those who have found themselves increasingly disenfranchised by Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves’ business agenda, which many believe could not be less supportive of our industry, the prospect of a Burnham premiership may provide a sense of relief.
Not least because the man once dubbed the ‘King of the North’ has already promised to shower hospitality with shiny trinkets should he take Labour’s crown.
While Blair had education, Thatcher had free markets, Brown had social justice and Cameron had austerity, Burnham’s big project, it would seem, is the rejuvenation of British highstreets.
Policy pledges
Making his first policy pledge earlier this month he vowed to abolish business rates for cafés and cut rates for pubs and music venues by 20% if he becomes Prime Minister.
Indeed, he even went as far as to accuse the current Government of ‘undervaluing’ the importance of pubs to their local communities.
Adding further scale to his vision, he also said he would abolish business rates for shops and hairdressers and would increase the threshold at which small businesses start paying business rates to £18,000 from the current £12,000.
Additionally, the threshold under which businesses receive ‘tapered’ relief would increase from £15,000 to £21,000.
- This story was originally published in The Morning Advertiser’s sister publication MCA. Read the full story here.
