The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters - Why Restore Britain Matters to Makerfield

00:00:00.000 Good morning, I'm Luca from the Lotus Seaters reporting to you on the ground here in Maker

00:00:04.440 Field for the fifth day of our coverage of the campaigning for Restore Britain and the wider

00:00:10.280 public at large here in Maker Field. It's Friday morning, the weather is far better now and the

00:00:16.520 morning campaigners have already gone out on the scene canvassing, knocking around doors. We were

00:00:22.000 really encouraged as well by what we were seeing yesterday evening and throughout the day with

00:00:28.540 many, many people, drivers, passers-by, coming inspected, just curious about what we were doing

00:00:34.220 and coming forward and just declaring that they were going to be voting for Restore Britain.

00:00:40.240 And so there is a lot of excitement here on the ground from our perspective. And there seems to

00:00:46.920 be also a lot of panic and trepidation amongst the airwaves as well. We're seeing constant articles

00:00:53.640 coming out daily now about Restore Britain, reform, Labour and what it all means, where it's

00:01:00.060 all heading and that's what we're here to do, to speak to people on the ground here and give you a

00:01:05.700 better idea of their impressions, their experience living here in Wigan and campaigning here in

00:01:11.820 Makerfield and so we're going to speak to more canvases today and we're also going to go towards

00:01:17.920 the centre of Makerfield later on and bring you more interviews with the public. I'm delighted

00:01:23.560 to be joined here by Andrew Bridgen, former MP for the constituency of North West Leicester.

00:01:29.620 Now Andrew, you've obviously been up to Makerfield a few times over now, haven't you? This is your

00:01:36.300 third visit up to go canvassing and campaigning. So what have your impressions been over time and

00:01:41.060 how have you felt that momentum has been gathering? The first time up here, some people have never

00:01:46.080 heard of Rupert Lowe and Restore Britain, but that's not the case today. I think the votes

00:01:51.960 consolidating. We've got more activists out on the ground than all the other parties put together

00:01:58.540 and the momentum is with Rupert Lowe and Restore Britain. And the great thing about

00:02:04.680 Makerfield is almost half, 49% of the electorate didn't bother to vote at the last election.

00:02:10.120 I think Restore Britain, with their unique offering, is the only party that can actually

00:02:14.720 appeal to 100% of the potential electorate, especially those people who've given up with

00:02:20.120 mainstream parties.

00:02:21.520 And speaking of the mainstream, obviously you're someone who isn't exactly alien to

00:02:26.960 the tactics smears of both the establishment and the media.

00:02:30.980 So what have you made of how they've been attacking Restore and the division that they've

00:02:35.960 been trying to sow and doubt that they've been trying to cast in the electorate?

00:02:39.780 The way they're polling nationally without prompting for Restore, the way that the BBC

00:02:44.680 organised question time on the by-election and didn't invite Restore Britain, who were

00:02:51.680 at least in third position at that stage. It's all out of the playbook. If you want

00:02:57.640 any more proof that the rest of the parties, including Reform, are in the Uni Party, just

00:03:03.780 look at the way the media are handling all of this. And for me, being up here, I mean,

00:03:07.780 to be honest, half the people on the doorstep recognise me anyway, so it's nearly as good

00:03:13.920 as being in northwest Leicestershire. Well, I suppose it just goes to show, doesn't it, how

00:03:18.840 what affects one of us in one constituency affects us all. The troubles of Wigan are similar to those

00:03:24.320 of your own constituents, of course, back in Leicestershire. And we're all motivated by the

00:03:28.880 same things. What sort of things, as you've been going about canvassing, have you most consistently

00:03:33.540 heard on the door that they feel, you know, concerns that people are having that aren't

00:03:38.160 being addressed by Westminster?

00:03:40.460 Well, the cost of living crisis, uncontrolled migration,

00:03:44.260 which puts pressure on housing, jobs and public services,

00:03:49.240 and, of course, uncontrolled development on green spaces and new housing,

00:03:53.760 which without, you know, if we controlled immigration properly,

00:03:56.980 we wouldn't need that level of housing growth, would we?

00:03:59.740 And do you have any final thoughts for a message that you want to give

00:04:03.880 the people of Makerfield and those about listening?

00:04:06.720 It's very interesting, the game that Andy Burnham's campaign is playing, because he doesn't mention Labour on his posters or many of his leaflets.

00:04:15.000 And it very much goes like this. You go to the door and they say, no, no, I wouldn't vote Labour. Labour's rubbish.

00:04:22.020 I'm not voting Labour. I'm voting for our Andy. 1.00

00:04:25.860 And it's an absolute con that Labour is such a toxic brand that they'll walk into that polling station and they'll be looking for the Andy party and it's not there.

00:04:34.180 Well, Andrew, thank you very much for your time, sir.

00:04:36.720 Thank you very much.

00:04:37.780 Hello.

00:04:38.180 Well, I'm here now in Platte Bridge.

00:04:41.180 Restore Britain canvassers are going about around the local council estates, knocking

00:04:45.460 door to door.

00:04:46.600 And unlike yesterday, one thing that's positive and encouraging is far more people local to

00:04:52.020 the area are actually just answering their doors and having the discussions on the doorstep,

00:04:56.140 which is, of course, far more personable and persuasive than a flyer ever would be.

00:05:01.460 So it's great that they're getting the opportunity to discuss these things on the door, to raise

00:05:05.320 awareness for Restore Britain and their policies. Looking about there are a good number of Burnham

00:05:10.280 placards about. There's obviously some strong support for Burnham here but there's also you

00:05:15.320 know some Robert Kenyon banners as well so yeah there seems to be many things to play for

00:05:22.760 and we'll just put a few of those through the letter boxes shall we?

00:05:26.840 Well hello we're sat here in the glorious sunshine after an afternoon's canvassing with some of the

00:05:32.040 fine gentlemen here. Gents, would you like to start by just introducing yourself and

00:05:35.940 saying where you've come from to campaign in Makerfield today?

00:05:40.100 My name is Kai Stephens and I've come all the way up from Norwich to come and campaign

00:05:43.860 today.

00:05:44.860 I'm Jamie and I've come from Yarmouth.

00:05:45.860 I'm Andreas and I've come from Beaconsfield.

00:05:47.860 Wonderful. So, a broad array. And what was it that, why did you decide to get involved

00:05:53.380 in Restore Britain in the first place, Gents?

00:05:55.480 So I recently, after the end of the last election, I became good friends with Jamie and Andreas

00:05:59.320 and despite me not being part of Restore Britain, but very kindly allowed me to come along and help

00:06:03.720 out. The reason why I'm coming along as an outsider is because I want to see the truth

00:06:08.040 about Restore because there's a lot of natural propaganda on both sides. Restore always going

00:06:11.800 to big up Restore, Reformer always going to put down Restore, so on and so forth,

00:06:15.160 and I wanted to get a grounded, good, measured view as to what Restore is like on the ground,

00:06:19.480 and it is excellent. I got involved in Restore Britain because a party I support happening in

00:06:25.400 my home constituency of Yarmouth was I knew I'd regret it if I didn't get involved. I've always

00:06:31.720 supported Rupert and the fact that the first election was happening in in my hometown was

00:06:35.800 just crazy to me so I've come to I enjoyed I enjoyed canvassing there so I've come to every

00:06:40.280 election since. My answer is very simple I have not had any party that is like Restore Britain

00:06:45.000 and I just firmly believe in the policy. Wonderful and how do you feel like with such

00:06:49.320 enthusiasm around the table for Restore Britain that that same enthusiasm has been met on the

00:06:54.520 the doorstep here around households in makerfield yeah absolutely everywhere you go there are plenty

00:06:59.580 of restore signs as well when you speak to people you do tend to find even the reform voters are

00:07:05.360 very sympathetic to restore and perhaps if restore maybe after this election right if they get a good

00:07:11.140 strong vote close second maybe sorry i'm slightly behind reform maybe slightly ahead of reform

00:07:16.960 they will be in a position to then say to voters next time in the next by-election or so on so

00:07:21.280 forth. Restore is actually a serious contender. We are more than worth your vote and we're

00:07:24.800 certainly not splitting it. It absolutely is. Very positive today. As Kai said, reform voters

00:07:30.720 are very receptive to us once they hear of us. Not everyone has heard of us, but a good proportion

00:07:35.040 have. And yeah, it's very positive. And what would you say about the critics who are seeking to

00:07:40.720 basically dissuade people from voting Restore because they're talking about splitting the vote

00:07:45.520 and basically the strategy of letting Burnham in? What would your message to those perhaps

00:07:49.680 wavering voters be? Don't be scared. Restore Britain is probably the only party that actually

00:07:55.480 represents the people. And I think it's time that we stop being so used to the establishment that

00:08:01.420 we have. Restore Britain represents that. And how have you taken the media reaction

00:08:07.120 to the rise of Restore Britain in this, obviously, in this constituency, the poll numbers rising,

00:08:14.300 and also as well, just the lack of polling as well, so we can get a bit of clear vision on

00:08:19.080 the ground game. What do you think to how this has been perceived by those from the Ivory Towers 0.94

00:08:24.420 and the Westminster bubble? Well, I think it's interesting. There's been seemingly somewhat of

00:08:28.540 a media blackout on Restore itself. And my sort of theory as to why this is, is because they want

00:08:33.440 to make it a bit of a tighter race between reform and Restore, because naturally they are, people

00:08:38.240 say they're not splitting the vote, but they are fighting for the same demographic of voters. You

00:08:42.000 know, the people who, like I said earlier, the reform sympathetic voters are the ones who seem

00:08:46.260 to be most likely to convert to us, which in some ways, yes, for this election, it will be better

00:08:52.760 for the Labour Party, no doubt about it. However, in future elections, it is just given reform,

00:08:58.120 sorry, given restore Britain, two res, much more credibility amongst the voter base regardless.

00:09:04.480 But also, does that help fight against reform from a left-wing perspective? Possibly so as well.

00:09:10.440 But naturally, at some point, right, the party has to get started, the party has to contest elections

00:09:14.720 in a very serious manner. So in that regard, I think there's nothing wrong with Restore contesting.

00:09:19.600 And from your experience going out canvassing, do you feel like the policies and the message

00:09:26.240 for Restore Britain is being taken seriously on the doorstep by people that you've been meeting

00:09:31.920 there? Most definitely. I mean, I think for a lot of it, people were apathetic in regards to the

00:09:36.960 parties in which they had access to previously. And then along comes Restore. And suddenly they

00:09:42.960 are really happy about it. There's not many policies I've heard that people have faulted

00:09:48.000 us for either. It's just the party that actually genuinely represents what it is that the people

00:09:53.140 are looking for. And final question for the interview then. Do you think that, based on

00:09:58.040 what you've seen as well, I'm sure obviously some of the houses that people have been going around,

00:10:02.200 of course, or has been canvassing for Restore Britain, people have said that I'm sticking

00:10:06.120 with reform. Have you had any examples of reasoning for why that is? And, you know,

00:10:11.360 some things that can be self-improved on from our end as well, and making sure that Restore

00:10:16.640 Britain's message cuts through. So the most common reason for sticking with reform is they just don't

00:10:21.640 believe that Restore Britain will win. That's why it's so important for us to get a good amount,

00:10:26.020 if not win, this election. We just need to prove that the concept is viable. Some people, so I think

00:10:33.940 every reform voter I've spoken to has actually preferred us, but they just don't believe that

00:10:38.280 that will win so if we can prove that we can get a good amount then um they'll switch to us does

00:10:43.480 anyone want to give a final message to people who might be watching this who are from the local area

00:10:48.200 or indeed they're just considering voting for reform or restore britain obviously in the future

00:10:52.920 election and what might sway them to obviously rupert lowe's side of things and the the movement

00:10:58.120 that's growing throughout the country thanks to the conversation that i had with someone earlier

00:11:02.600 the reason why they were going to most likely stick with reform instead of moving to restore

00:11:06.440 was they weren't the most interested in politics but largely it was an apathy thing for them they

00:11:11.720 just said you know we need like a change of the guard from labor and um labor and conservatives

00:11:17.240 and reform seems like the easiest quickest option whether what i said to the lady and what i would

00:11:22.200 say to other people who may agree with that sentiment is that ultimately reform is now

00:11:27.480 part of the establishment i asked the lady what is the most important issue to and she said

00:11:31.560 immigration. Well, the people who have caused such an insane immigration nightmare would be,

00:11:36.760 you know, partly to blame Robert Jemrick, right? Suella Braverman. And these are the people who 0.55

00:11:41.000 are now in reform. If you couldn't trust these people to start immigration the first time,

00:11:45.400 they told you they were going to do it. You probably can't trust them the second time.

00:11:49.080 And Restore, very evidently by the people in the top ranks, are far more serious about stopping 1.00

00:11:53.240 the immigration catastrophe. Well, gentlemen, thank you very much for your time, your efforts, 1.00

00:11:58.440 and your passion for Restore. So I'm here today joined by Marlon West. Marlon and I have spent

00:12:04.280 a bit of time together as we've been going street to street campaigning and Marlon's been instrumental

00:12:09.240 in just planning and, you know, organizing for all of that. So Marlon, I'd like to start by just

00:12:15.720 asking you, what got you involved in Restore Britain in the first place, sir? So for myself,

00:12:21.880 I've been campaigning now for the last three, four years around grooming.

00:12:27.520 And I've seen a number of MPs trying to get a national inquiry.

00:12:34.020 And eventually I met Rupert, which was amazing.

00:12:38.120 He was the only MP that would support me with grooming.

00:12:42.620 None of the other MPs.

00:12:44.220 Met with Jess Phillips.

00:12:45.780 Met with Andy Burnham.

00:12:48.020 Nobody would support me.

00:12:49.200 And the reason why he supports me is because he's a dad.

00:12:52.620 So that's how I got into it.

00:12:54.300 My career, 30 years in the NHS, I was in senior management.

00:12:58.200 If I'm honest with you, I've walked away from it.

00:12:59.840 I walked away from it last year.

00:13:01.760 And I've been with Rupert ever since because I'm loyal to him,

00:13:05.300 because he's supported me when nobody else would do.

00:13:08.420 And obviously, it's a horrendous thing to know about.

00:13:11.820 And I remember in my time, you know, obviously covering it on Lotus Sea

00:13:14.980 as we did roundtables, podcast segments.

00:13:17.080 It is just the most harrowing stories that I've ever heard of in my entire life.

00:13:22.440 And the fact that the establishment could let it happen is truly one of the worst betrayals and crimes, of course, of all time.

00:13:29.440 What, to you, do you feel like justice truly looks like when it comes to something of this scale?

00:13:36.360 Well, I guess this brings me back to the rape gang inquiry, because we have to have accountability.

00:13:42.040 For me, the professionals, when I say professionals, police forces, counsellors, social services,

00:13:51.360 all the professionals that, in my case, covered up my daughter's grooming, should go to prison.

00:13:58.980 That's what needs to happen, and that will fit into the Rape Gang Inquiry.

00:14:03.480 And of course, the Rape Gang Inquiry, the report, the final report from it,

00:14:08.080 I believe will come out next week in fact as in fact as the final sort of week of canvassing also

00:14:15.200 takes place in Makerfield so those two things will happen fairly simultaneously. Yeah that's correct

00:14:20.640 so myself and Sammy Woodhouse have worked really really hard on this that will be out before the 0.93

00:14:26.760 by-election and it needs to be because we need to show the public how horrendous these girls have

00:14:34.420 been treated, not just by the groomers, but also by services who should have been protecting

00:14:40.620 these girls when they were children. So we do need that out, and it will be out next week.

00:14:47.300 Well, that's very good to hear. And obviously, it's just so anger-inducing that, of course,

00:14:53.220 it's taken so long to get an honest assessment of genuinely what happened. With respect to,

00:14:59.840 of course um what many parents including yourself of course have had to endure uh up and down the

00:15:05.760 country how has that message been received on maker field as you've been about campaigning

00:15:11.620 have people do you feel from the public been noticing rupert lowe's independent rape gang

00:15:17.260 inquiry are they looking for finally answers and justice for all of this on the doorstep

00:15:22.620 absolutely knocking on the doors speaking not just to females mothers but also fathers

00:15:30.040 they welcome this report and rightly so because we have to protect the children of this country

00:15:39.460 and if something isn't going to get done it's going to get worse a lot of a lot of the parents

00:15:45.660 are telling me they don't want the children you know teenage children going into the town centers

00:15:51.560 They're terrified, yet the government are not listening to this.

00:15:55.380 Stam's not listening to this.

00:15:57.020 Andy Burnham's not listening to this.

00:15:59.120 And for myself, for the last three, four years, it's been like banging my head against the wall.

00:16:04.800 And this is so important.

00:16:06.780 These are our children who are not safe.

00:16:09.460 It's remarkable as well, I suppose, when we think of the fact that the entire premise behind Andy Burnham himself running here in Makerfield

00:16:17.260 is, of course, to restore public trust in the Labour Party.

00:16:21.900 That is the entire message around his campaigning, of course.

00:16:25.340 Do you think that people around here genuinely believe

00:16:29.460 that Burnham can restore trust to the Labour Party?

00:16:33.000 Absolutely not.

00:16:35.040 The majority of the people I speak to don't trust Sandy Burnham.

00:16:40.560 For Greater Manchester, he did do an independent inquiry

00:16:45.580 for the treatment of women and girls by Greater Manchester Police

00:16:50.420 which I was involved with and also my daughter was involved with

00:16:55.200 and that was Dame Vera Baird

00:16:57.000 and initially, yes, very good

00:17:00.200 we have not heard of him since

00:17:02.320 the recommendations haven't been completed

00:17:05.600 and he said he would do an investigation via GMP

00:17:10.000 into my daughter and we're two years on

00:17:12.600 and we've heard nothing

00:17:14.160 so and I'm happy to tell people at Makefield what has happened but a lot of them are already aware

00:17:21.180 of it so they don't trust him and so with that trust broken with the public do you feel like

00:17:30.280 that is one of the key drivers for the enthusiastic response on the doorstep for Restore Britain

00:17:36.160 something genuinely anti-establishment something that's not going to be shackled by concerns of

00:17:43.320 political correctness in seeking justice and not just for obviously the you know the horrendous

00:17:49.620 sufferings you know inflicted on the rape gang survivors but also because of a number of endemic

00:17:54.700 issues throughout the country that the establishment have either neglected to address

00:17:59.640 or have actively proliferated again yes I don't think speaking to many parents across the country

00:18:09.880 great manchester is no different we we grew men than birmingham yorkshire london and speaking to

00:18:16.780 a lot of the a lot of the parents we don't think this is neglect this is clear cover-up when parents

00:18:23.200 have i've gone to mps and councillors and local authorities and they've not been listened to and

00:18:30.060 the reason why they've not been listened to is because everybody is terrified of being

00:18:34.920 being stereotyped as racist even when it's factual information again speaking to Rupert being part

00:18:40.980 of Restore Britain we are not afraid to actually discuss this factual information and no other

00:18:47.900 part is doing that hence why you know for the last three weeks I've been stomping around Wigan

00:18:53.340 and prior to that Great Yarmouth because for me I'm there for parents and also for other survivors

00:19:01.220 and for the girls that have not been groomed yet because it has to stop.

00:19:05.860 No, of course, I heartily agree with you.

00:19:08.660 If I may just ask you a few more general questions about the campaign.

00:19:12.820 One thing I wanted to ask you is, of course, you and I were together yesterday evening

00:19:17.440 when we saw an entire street, of course, change from Reform UK to Restore Britain.

00:19:24.560 One of the points that the gentleman made, of course, one of the ones that we spoke to,

00:19:30.160 was the fact that actually reform was merely the best that he could have as an option at this time.

00:19:36.940 And now that he finally has Restore Britain on the menu of the political landscape, of course,

00:19:42.540 he decided that he was going to take the plunge.

00:19:45.340 What would you say to other people out there in Makerfield who are also teetering on the question

00:19:51.460 of whether or not to vote reform or Restore based off of a lot of the narratives that have been going around right now

00:19:57.980 about the possibility of splitting the vote so what i'd say to him is vote restore britain

00:20:03.800 we're not splitting the right vote this is your vote and if you want if you want britain to be

00:20:10.660 safe again and um be restored to what it used to be you need to vote for restore this this is

00:20:18.500 paramount um i don't believe we're splitting the right vote at all a lot of the a lot of the people

00:20:25.960 when knocking on the doors have said to me, I did vote for reform in the local election

00:20:32.860 because you didn't have a candidate at the time. But now you're here, we are voting for you.

00:20:38.640 Because it's common sense. And that's what Rupert brings to the table, common sense.

00:20:44.540 These are all the concerns that the working class family have. And no other party is saying that.

00:20:52.920 And also, if I may as well, because, of course, the party, though Rupert is, of course, becoming very, very influential across the landscape of British politics, of course, here in Makerfield, it's also Restore Britain's candidate, Rebecca Shepard, who is, of course, connecting with people on the doors.

00:21:09.980 And, of course, you've spent a lot of time with Rebecca now as well.

00:21:13.140 What's your assessment of her on the door and the way that she's interacting with local people?

00:21:19.340 Again, really strongly with this. It comes across on the door. She isn't a career politician. Her heart's in Wigan, make a field. She's a local businesswoman. She's worked with children and a question for many years. And the heart is here. Not like the other politicians where, let's face it, it's purely about career and making money.

00:21:44.780 she doesn't care about that and she's down to earth when she speaks to him and the public

00:21:50.740 realize that when they speak to him do you have any parting thoughts that you want to

00:21:55.840 tell to people who'll be watching this and the people of maker field vote with your heart vote

00:22:00.720 what's right don't be bullied by labor or reform if you want drastic changes the country to be safe

00:22:09.600 economically to be safe, then vote Restore Britain.

00:22:15.160 Marlon, thank you for your time, sir.

00:22:17.020 Well, we're here towards the end of the day now.

00:22:19.600 I'm actually on the very high street of Ashton in Makerfield.

00:22:23.460 We're hoping to go about and actually get some public opinions now,

00:22:27.360 some vox pops on the street.

00:22:29.160 Don't know how inclined actually some people will be

00:22:31.820 to take the time to speak to us on Friday evening,

00:22:35.200 just as they're all obviously wanting to go away,

00:22:37.140 enjoy the weekends and uh go to the pub of course but uh we'll see what we can do hello sir what's

00:22:42.660 your name mike pleased to meet you mike um so in terms of the uh what's going on here in makerfield

00:22:48.060 do you have any thoughts on andy burnham or on uh rob kenyon of course reforms candidate or

00:22:52.920 sarah shepherd for restore britain from my point of view i just think reform are just a bunch of

00:22:59.000 shysters right they will focus on anything to divert away from the what they're doing behind

00:23:06.120 closed doors type of thing blaming brown people immigrants that type of thing and when it comes

00:23:12.260 down to it the money that's been spent on immigrants is a fraction of the national

00:23:18.080 outgoings type of thing so i'm disappointed because saint helen's voted in some reform and

00:23:25.300 i'm hoping ashton don't go the same way you just see some of his comments that he's made the stuff

00:23:31.340 he made about carl vorderman the stuff he made about just some of the other things that he's

00:23:37.360 made i just i think the shysters so in your opinion what do you think that um a politician

00:23:43.240 should do in order to get britain back on track and healthy again it comes down to it career

00:23:48.360 politicians aren't the way forward for me i don't know how you get away from that it's a very very

00:23:54.780 you know if someone comes up with that i know the greeks back in ancient times they used to have

00:23:59.200 If they used to do it for a period of time and then someone else was into that, that would be an idea.

00:24:05.380 But they've got to try and put the people first.

00:24:07.660 And it always seems to be money orientated.

00:24:10.620 Whatever money's being pushed, they all seem to back along that way type of thing for me.

00:24:16.200 Are there any political parties in the landscape of Britain right now that do give you some hope for the future?

00:24:23.020 No, not really.

00:24:24.080 And I know that's not an ideal thing.

00:24:26.360 i do i do like andy burden i know he's at manchester and i know some people i know that

00:24:31.320 rob kenyon said that everything was being focused towards manchester but as an mp you can only do

00:24:36.560 what's good for your constituency type of thing so i do like you know when it came to covid which

00:24:42.760 i know was several years ago now but when it came to covid andy burden was very push about

00:24:47.120 manchester having the same sort of funds that london were getting when it was um when everyone

00:24:52.880 was off type of thing so i know that was very good and he did stuff like that manchester as much as i

00:24:58.660 don't go as much into manchester as i do is liverpool you can see how manchester's been

00:25:01.900 developing and stuff like that so you can only go off what he's been doing in manchester for me

00:25:07.020 career politicians are you know a thing of the past or they should be a thing of the past well

00:25:12.620 it sounds like it's uh definitely going to be a conundrum going forward for unpicking ourselves

00:25:17.000 away from the career politicians anyway what's your name sir lewis lewis and um how do you feel

00:25:23.940 about you're obviously local to makefield lewis do you have any confidence in any of the candidates

00:25:28.560 that are competing for your vote here in makerfield no politicians are all the same

00:25:33.960 they tell you what you want to hear until they get in power and then they do whatever they want

00:25:40.020 so until somebody actually gets in who does what they say i'm not bothering with any of them and

00:25:46.180 And what are some of the things that you would like to actually see, though, from those in Westminster?

00:25:52.460 What sort of changes do you actually want delivered for people such as yourself here in Makerfield?

00:25:58.300 Just revitalising the, you know, Makerfield.

00:26:04.700 Nothing much has been done with it for years.

00:26:08.100 It's just been in decline. 0.92

00:26:10.200 Just more for the British people as well.

00:26:12.360 um you know i'm all for people coming to the country and uh working hard um i feel anybody

00:26:22.440 should be free to move to whatever country they want to as long as they you know put to and work

00:26:28.240 hard um but you know unfortunately that's not happen happening here there's a lot of illegal

00:26:35.140 immigration and i think everybody's fed up with it so obviously just uh off of what you were just

00:26:40.860 mentioning there about illegal immigration obviously some of the parties that have the

00:26:45.420 strongest rhetoric when it comes to the question of illegal immigration reform uk of course and

00:26:50.460 more recently rupert lowe's restore britain do any do either of those parties you think offer a

00:26:56.340 viable alternative for you to put some trust into so with regards to what we've had for quite a long

00:27:03.780 time has been left-wing policies even by conservatives they've followed off the back of

00:27:09.440 Tony Blair, just putting in place policies and a vision he set in place when he was in power.

00:27:15.540 With regard to reform, I don't trust Nigel Farage. I think he's sort of a puppet installed to keep

00:27:24.980 everybody quiet because, you know, a lot of people are going mad for a while and then Nigel Farage

00:27:32.340 comes along and then everybody quiets down because Nigel's going to save the day. I think as well

00:27:37.740 because it's gone so far left for so long you then get it going the opposite way to sort of make up

00:27:45.020 so i i don't think any of them are going to be what the country needs um but you know

00:27:51.880 if i may say you sound like someone who's not particularly hopeful for the future right now

00:27:57.040 is that the case yeah i'd say so i i'm very much like we've we've all heard and seen it before you

00:28:02.980 know from every party they've promised stuff and it's never happened it's got worse so it's one of

00:28:08.900 those where I believe it when I see it. Well thank you very much for your time Lewis thank you. Hello

00:28:13.220 there what's your name sir? Ray Talbot. Pleasure to meet you Ray and obviously there's been a lot

00:28:18.000 of attention here in Makerfield because of the by-election do you have any thoughts on any of

00:28:23.160 the particular candidates who are contesting it? I'm familiar with Andy, Andy Burnham, the Labour

00:28:28.820 candidate. I think he's done a very good job as the mayor of Manchester and I think he's very

00:28:33.680 sincere and works very hard. And do you think that off of the back of Andy Burnham and the example

00:28:39.660 that he's been having in Manchester of course, that he is actually a man capable of rehabilitating

00:28:45.960 the public image of the Labour Party itself if he were able to come back to Westminster?

00:28:51.580 I think he's the best Labour person I've seen so far. He's worked very hard. I think he's very

00:28:57.680 intelligent and I think he considers other people's opinions. And based off of that as well

00:29:03.400 how do you feel about some of the other candidates who are contesting the election obviously more to

00:29:08.680 the right wing of it as well you've obviously got Reform UK you've got Restore Britain and how do

00:29:13.960 you feel about those candidates? I think they've got some very good ideas and their portfolio might

00:29:20.060 be better than Andy's but I haven't studied them so I couldn't really comment in detail. Your sort

00:29:25.580 of endorsement of Andy Burnham is more of Andy Burnham, the man himself, as opposed to the

00:29:31.920 policies that the Labour Party are currently obviously offering to the public? Well, that's

00:29:37.420 a fair point you make. I think, in my opinion, the problem you have is once the MP goes to

00:29:43.280 Parliament, there's 650 MPs. Each of the MPs has to vote according to the whip. So I think,

00:29:49.960 in actual fact, that any influence Andy or any other MP could bring to bear is minimal. I think

00:29:55.440 really the party as a whole controls what happens.

00:29:59.200 One of the interesting things that I find is that, of course, the Labour Party at this

00:30:03.080 point, you know, I think it was, if I remember rightly, it began in about 1900.

00:30:07.620 So it's a very historic party at this point.

00:30:10.240 We've obviously seen a lot of the Conservative vote absolutely collapsing, and it seems very

00:30:16.620 unlikely that it's going to be able to rehabilitate itself.

00:30:20.260 Do you think that unlike the Conservative Party, the Labour Party needs to carry on in order for British democracy to be healthy and robust?

00:30:29.920 I think it does need to carry on, but I think it's got to tune into the times and listen to the voters and listen to the people.

00:30:37.640 I think the country as a whole has changed for the worse over the last 20 years.

00:30:44.920 And it's very difficult really to turn the clock back, but you've got to try.

00:30:48.840 May I ask you what some of those changes are that you feel are negative and whether or not you feel like there's any hope on the horizon of them being addressed and changed?

00:30:57.480 I think that generally the law and order in England has deteriorated.

00:31:03.560 That isn't necessarily the police's fault.

00:31:05.880 I think it's family's fault because a child is really controlled by the family.

00:31:10.760 The police only have a minimal influence.

00:31:13.680 And I think really the public way that they bring children up needs to change.

00:31:19.340 And I think people now need to take an interest in what their children,

00:31:23.260 their grandchildren are doing and think about the future.

00:31:26.200 Are there any other concerns that you have beyond crime and policing right now and general delinquency? 1.00

00:31:33.020 I think the immigration from France needs to be stopped. 1.00

00:31:36.780 I think that's costing the country a lot of money. 1.00

00:31:39.400 I think that, from my opinion, is that basically our Navy should be intercepting the boats and returning to France.

00:31:46.600 If they landed in a plane in Manchester airport, they'd be deported and sent back on the next plane.

00:31:52.060 So why is it any different on the coastline?

00:31:55.140 Really, that should be stopped from France.

00:31:57.280 They've allowed those people to travel through the whole country 750 miles without any control whatsoever. 0.99

00:32:03.140 One of Reform UK's recent policies with respect to the illegal immigrants was, of course, to temporarily house them in constituencies that voted for the Green Party. 0.97

00:32:14.340 Is that a policy that you'd personally be inclined towards? 0.84

00:32:18.820 No, I think the cost of administrating that would be ludicrous.

00:32:22.220 I think really the government has to stand up to France. 0.93

00:32:26.700 One thing I've said before to people is, why aren't the Navy taking them back?

00:32:31.540 And we charge the French for the Navy, the cost of the men, the boat, the diesel,

00:32:37.720 and block the port until they pay the bill.

00:32:40.660 And one last question for you, if I may, sir.

00:32:42.980 Obviously, you've said that you personally think that you have some confidence in Andy Burnham.

00:32:48.660 Do you feel like that commitment to the Labour Party, to Andy Burnham, is ironclad?

00:32:55.420 Or do you see yourself with inability to change parties based on where things go in the future?

00:33:01.960 I think the Reform Party has some good points. I might look at them in more detail.

00:33:06.960 I think Andy really has to make his influence felt in Westminster.

00:33:12.660 I can see him having problems with some of the other MPs there for the Labour Party.

00:33:17.720 And the whip will no doubt have enough influence. But I think we need genuine people who have the intelligence and the commitment to try and make a change.

00:33:28.500 Wonderful. Well, thank you very much for your time, Ray. Thank you, sir.

00:33:31.140 Hello. Well, we've just finished having our conversations with some of the locals around Ashton High Street.

00:33:36.540 To confess to you, honestly, most people are either sick of being asked about the by-election or have no real feelings about it.

00:33:43.180 But obviously, you'll have seen by now a few of the conversations that we were able to have.

00:33:47.560 Beyond that, of course, not everyone wants to be on camera.

00:33:50.420 We did speak to some people off camera as well.

00:33:52.500 There was one particular lad who'd clearly started his weekend a little bit early.

00:33:56.920 And it turns out that he was saying that he was enthusiastic for Restore Britain.

00:34:01.360 We've also spoken to some young lads, of course, who are not yet old enough to vote in the election.

00:34:06.580 However, if the Labour Party decide to extend the vote to the 16-year-olds, then it won't be too far away for them.

00:34:12.680 And they were telling us that the word on the street here is that Andy Burnham has the momentum.

00:34:17.500 Here around in the high street, seen a lot of Labour support, seen some reform flags as well.

00:34:23.320 So, yeah, it's very interesting to get a flavour of things on the ground here in one of the busiest parts of Ashton.

00:34:28.940 And we're obviously looking forward to you reporting going into Saturday tomorrow for when the cavalry arrived.

00:34:35.500 And not just, of course, at Restore Britain's canvassers are going to flock here off of work, obviously.

00:34:40.960 spent dedicating their weekends to the final push but of course for many of the other parties as well

00:34:46.900 so it seems like all of the energy is going to converge here on Makerfield and we're certainly

00:34:52.700 going to be looking forward to observing all of it.

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The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters - June 15, 2026

Why Restore Britain Matters to Makerfield

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