UK & Makerfield Election: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

A small UK area called Makerfield may decide the next prime minister in a Thursday by-election because Labour's Keir Starmer has collapsed in popularity.

• Makerfield location — Area between Manchester and Liverpool with about 76,000 voters that could swing national power [00:05].

• Starmer's slide — Labour lost over 1,400 council seats last month after failing to fix the economy and pandering right on issues like immigration [02:56].

• Replacement plan — Andy Burnham aims to win the Makerfield seat and challenge Starmer for Labour leadership [05:51].

• Right-wing threat — Reform UK and Restore Britain gain ground with anti-immigrant policies, including candidates with extreme views on race and Islam [10:25].

• Local issues ignored — Voters face waste dumps and economic pain while candidates focus on national ambitions [24:30].

• Why does Reform UK's candidate history include defending a crude tweet about Carol Vorderman?

• How has Andy Burnham's popularity rating compared to other UK politicians recently?