The Edge Green Street ground of Ashton Town Football Club might not seem the obvious place in which to spark a revolution, but it was carefully chosen by Andy Burnham as the location for his Makerfield by-election victory speech.
With the winning candidate dressed down in polo shirt and slacks, in a grassroots sort of venue, the “optics” of it all underlined his status as tribune of the people. The prime minister, we may note, is rarely seen without a suit and tie, and has struggled to shake off his reputation as a habitue of the VIP box at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.
