Farage: “Open Borders Burnham”; Tory Chair Attacks “Re-litigate Brexit”
Nigel Farage said in an interview that Burnham “would be a disaster for the economy and betray every Brexit voter in the constituency. ‘Open borders Burnham’ must be stopped.” Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said: “Whilst Labour re-litigate Brexit, Britain is not being governed.” Labour MP Dan Carden of the Blue Labour group warned his party against “whining about Brexit”: “It would be far better to focus government resources on making the most of our sovereign freedoms in trade and defence and foreign policy.”
The Telegraph reports Reform UK will print Burnham’s 2025 Labour conference EU-rejoin quote on its Makerfield by-election leaflets. Labour MP Jon Trickett, representing Normanton and Hemsworth, said in an interview the party “needs to honour the democratic decision” on Brexit and the rejoin framing “feels a bit defeatist to me”. Lord Glasman, the Labour peer associated with Blue Labour, said: “National sovereignty is key to the restoration of our national pride. The EU is economically stagnant and will remain so.” The wedge inside Labour mirrors the wedge in the 2024 electorate; the by-election will be the first quantitative test of whether a rejoin platform helps or hurts a Labour candidate in a Reform-leaning seat.