The honeymoon is emphatically over for Keir Starmer in the Labour heartlands. In the "Red Wall" constituency of Makerfield, once a fortress of party loyalty, the mood has soured into a bitter cocktail of disappointment and regret. Voters who backed Josh Simons and the Labour ticket in 2024 are now voicing open rebellion, citing a Prime Minister who seems unable to stick to a decision.

Seventeen months into the Labour government, the optimism that swept Starmer to power has evaporated in this corner of Greater Manchester. The catalyst for the latest wave of anger is the scandal engulfing Downing Street, but the roots go deeper. Constituents describe a sense of betrayal, feeling that the "change" they were promised was nothing more than a campaign slogan. The phrase on everyone’s lips is "U-turn," a label that has stuck to Starmer like mud.

The View from the Bakery

In Galloways Bakers, a local institution, the political analysis is as hot as the pasties. "We voted Labour and we shouldn’t have," said Clare Winterburn, capturing the prevailing sentiment. Her frustration is palpable. "You see it all day on the news: Keir Starmer doesn’t do anything but U-turns and couldn’t make a decision if one slapped him in the face." This is not just opposition chatter; this is the voice of the base, the very people Labour claims to represent.

The criticism is stinging because it attacks Starmer’s core appeal: competence. He was sold as the serious adult in the room, the antidote to Tory chaos. Instead, voters in Makerfield see a leader who is hesitant, reactive, and engulfed in the same kind of sleaze—highlighted by the Mandelson fallout—that they thought they had voted out. The perception that "they don’t think the rules apply to them" is lethal for a party that campaigned on integrity.

• The Josh Simons Factor: The local MP, Josh Simons, is a close ally of the PM and the influential Morgan McSweeney. His proximity to power, once seen as an asset, is now a liability as the center falters.
• Reform UK Rising: The disillusionment is creating a vacuum that Reform UK is eager to fill. "It’s time for Reform," Winterburn added, echoing a growing refrain. "We’ve tried all the others and they’ve all been crap."
• The "Red Wall" Crumble: Makerfield is a bellwether. If Labour is losing the narrative here, among working-class voters who returned to the fold in 2024, the foundations of their majority are shakier than Westminster realizes.

A Warning Shot for Number 10

The bleak mood in Makerfield is a microcosm of a wider national malaise. When a baker in a Labour stronghold says she regrets her vote less than two years into a term, the government is in trouble. Starmer’s administration is seen as aloof and disconnected, preoccupied with internal power struggles while the cost of living grinds on.

For Josh Simons and his colleagues, the weekends back in the constituency are becoming uncomfortable. They are fielding the anger of a public that feels short-changed. The message from the streets of Makerfield is blunt: stop the U-turns, stop the scandals, and start delivering, or the Red Wall will come crashing down again.

As the rain falls on Greater Manchester, it dampens not just the pavement but the last embers of hope that this government would be different. For Keir Starmer, the road back to trust looks long, winding, and—if Makerfield is anything to go by—possibly impassable.