John Oliver Introduces the Small Election That Could Change the Future of British Politics

The last four years have seen the Brits swap out their prime ministers with a frequency that would probably leave most Americans envious. Boris Johnson gave way to Liz Truss, who led to Rishi Sunak, who led to Labour’s Kier Starmer, who has quickly lost popularity after assuming the office in July 2024. As John Oliver explains on last night’s Last Week Tonight, this Thursday will see a by-election in the small area of Makerfield, about halfway between Liverpool and Manchester, engineered to elect Andy Burnham, the sitting mayor of greater Manchester, to Parliament, where he can then challenge Starmer. 

On a national level, the British political system is seeing more far-right candidates, both in the Reform Party, led by Brexit evangelist Nigel Farage who has suddenly come into some political funds, and the Restore Britain Party, which has openly courted neo-Nazi and has earned online praise from Elon Musk. “With Reform on the rise and Restore pulling it even further to the right, Britain risks heading in a very dark direction. And, at least in the immediate future, the only party positioned to stop that slide is the one currently in power, Labour,” says Oliver. And Burnham is actually the most popular politician in Britain, per the poll Oliver cites, managing a 35% approval rating. Burnham also hasn’t lived in the Makerfield district, with some residents not incorrectly pointing out that he’s a bit of a carpetbagger (as we would say in the States). 

“So what happens next? Well, someone is clearly going to win this Thursday’s election,” says Oliver, citing another poll suggesting that Labour is currently in the lead. “Even if Burnham does win and is then able to unseat Starmer, he’ll still face the same dismal economy and the same furious voters with only three years to figure out how to deliver the change that Starmer couldn’t before facing elections in 2029.” Check out the whole segment below.

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