"Restore supporters are DELUDED!" | David Starkey Talks... to Jack Hadfield

Having worked closely with both the Reform and Restore parties over the last few months, I find myself in a quandary over the goings on in Makerfield, where Reform have a good chance of winning the seat, but are seeing support slip away to the Restore candidate.

I think it's time to examine this issue, motivated (as all subscribers to this channel should be) by the overriding concern of what's best for this country and the danger that Andy Burnham presents to its future.

Let me make it clear to the complacent: if Andy Burnham wins in Makerfield, then he WILL become the next Prime Minister and he WILL drag this country further to the Left. For those who think doing so will automatically make Labour's chances of re-election even slimmer, I have grave news for you. Mr Burnham's personal popularity is real, if totally unmerited. There is every chance he might enjoy an unearned honeymoon period and bounce the country into an early election, clawing up enough of the vote to form some kind of monstrous coalition involving the Greens, Lib Dems and possibly the SNP.

Burnham is also on the record as a keen advocate for proportional representation. If he is able to push through such a change to our electoral law then the chances of a right-wing government ever taking office again are slim to non-existent. The hard-Left will have a permanent whip hand over our politics, just as they do in Germany where attempts by Friedrich Merz to tackle the immigration issue are consistently thwarted by the socialist party.

So when I say there's a lot riding on Makerfield, I'm not exaggerating. It is the worst possible occasion in which to indulge in petty factionalism. My guest this week makes no bones about his allegiances, he is backing Reform, and believes Restore supporters are deluded to imagine they can win the seat, rather than simply splitting the vote.