Nigel Farage urges Restore voters to back Reform after ‘disappointing’ night in Makerfield

Reform UK party leader calls Andy Burnham’s byelection win ‘emphatic’ and makes appeal to voters of far-right Restore Britain

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Nigel Farage has urged people who voted for Restore Britain in the Makerfield byelection to back Reform UK instead, after what he accepted had been a “disappointing” night for his party.

Reform’s candidate, Robert Kenyon, came second to Andy Burnham, but was more than 9,000 votes behind after what was often a difficult campaign for the local plumber, who was dogged by questions about sexist comments and other social media posts.