‘I had one man spit at my poster’: Makerfield deeply divided as byelection campaign draws to a close

People across constituency say voters are ‘turning against each other’ but Labour believes they will back Andy Burnham because he is ‘bringing people together’ On a wall inside Andy Burnham’s buzzy campaign centre, the signatures of hundreds of MPs, peers and councillors show the scale of the operation to return him to parliament. “MPs are like buses round here these days,” says one Labour volunteer. “You don’t see one for ages then hundreds turn up at once.” The voters of this long-neglected...

By Josh Halliday North of England editor